Broken Pieces
by xBloomStarx
Summary: After the Winx destroyed Darkar in Realix, everyone went back to their normal lives. Except Bloom. While attempting to deal with the struggle of graduating Alfea and recovering from the trauma she endured in ShadowHaunt, she encounters a certain wizard that she never intended to meet. Let alone fall for.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One**

"Bloom, I'm in a fashion crisis!"

I rolled my eyes at the shrill voice, unable to hold back the smile it brought.

Turning around in my chair, the door to my dorm room burst open. A flustered blonde was revealed, looking anything but happy behind the enormous stack of clothes in her arms.

"Bloom, did you not hear what I said?" she inquired angrily, inviting herself in.

"Yes, Stella, I heard you. And I'm pretty sure every planet from here to Frost heard you, too." I replied, giggling.

I quickly blocked the pillow that was promptly tossed at my face.

"Ha-ha, very funny. I'm serious, Bloom. I don't know how to do this!" She examined each article of clothing she'd unceremoniously scattered across my bed.

"Your parents have been divorced for how long now? Ten years? I think you're perfectly capable of choosing what you want to wear to your mom's and what you want to wear to your dad's."

Picking up the pencil on my desk, I returned to the sketch I'd been working on. Much like the majority of the drawings I'd been recently pining over, this was turning out to be anything but what I'd hoped for. Just before I could put the lead to the paper, a huge stack of expensive clothes appeared on top of my sketch.

"But I bought that new summer collection from Wizrahi!" Stella cried, distress laced in her tone. "And then there are those new Spell McCartney sandals I bought last week that go with the green Fairygamo skirt! How do you expect me to separate what clearly goes together?"

"I don't know, Stel." I said, beginning to get frustrated. "I'm sure you can come to some kind of conclusion."

"I need your opinion, though!"

"I haven't even met your parents! How would I know what either of them would like? Besides, you're their daughter. They're going to love you even if you wear plaid with stripes."

She scoffed in indignation. "I would never wear something as horrifying as that."

Grateful that she had calmed down a bit, I brought the stack of clothes over to my bed, adding to the growing pile of haute couture fashion.

"Here, how about we try a game?" I suggested, sifting through the load. "I'll put an outfit together and you say where it'll look best at –your mom's or your dad's."

Stella shrugged, tossing her long blonde hair over her shoulder. "Sounds simple enough."

"But, there's one tiny little catch."

She frowned. "What catch?"

"Once you pick an outfit, none of those clothes can be transferred to the other suitcase."

A gasp of horror filled the air and she shot to her feet. "That is insanity! Why would you suggest something so . . . _so inhumane_?"

I sighed, tossing the shirt in my hand back. "Fine! If you don't like my rules then go ask Musa. I'm sure she'd _love_ to help you."

Judging by the look on her face, she didn't catch the sarcastic lilt in my voice.

"Musa!" she screamed, running out of the room. "Musa, I need your assistance!"

I laughed, hearing a distant slam of a door and its lock clicking.

"Musa, don't you dare ignore me!"

Music suddenly began to blare through the common room, barely muffled by the thin walls.

Stella and Musa could never coincide together. I'd wondered how we'd all managed to survive living two years in the same housing unit without becoming victims to their wrath.

The two girls were the living embodiments of hot and cold, not only in their appearances, but also in their personalities. Stella was the girly blonde with an obsession with fashion, while Musa was the oriental tomboy who detested anything that included a skirt.

Therefore, the idea of Musa helping Stella with fashion was an easy thing to laugh at.

"You are horrible."

Glancing over my shoulder, I caught a glimpse of my smiling roommate walk in. "I'm only trying to get them to bond before summer starts."

"No, you just wanted to get Stella out. You know she and Musa are hot and cold."

Brutally erasing a particularly bad line, I started to re-draw the curve. "Okay, so maybe I did something against my better judgment. I'm sure no one's going to die from it."

Flora laughed and slid a chair up next to mine. Her eyes carefully inspected the drawing, taking in every detail I made. She appeared to be curious, but said nothing.

Flora had been my roommate for the past two years, and I couldn't have been more grateful for that. She was the peacekeeper of our little group, always gentle and always having a rational way to end a conflict.

After spending so much time together, Flora had become like the sister I'd never gotten the chance to have. Of course, no one would've guessed it based on a first glance. With her long brown hair, tan skin, soft voice, and my unruly bright red hair, pale skin, and awkward demeanor, we were polar opposites. Although, unlike Stella and Musa, we could live together harmoniously.

"I didn't know you still drew." Flora said, nodding towards my sketch.

I shrugged, nonchalant. "I'm not that great at it anymore."

Picking up one of my pictures I'd tucked into the drawer of my desk, she shook her head. "What are you talking about? These are amazing, Bloom!"

"Not really. I've done better."

"Well, if you want, I can give you a few pointers. Helia's been teaching me some things about drawing."

"Oh, has he?" I inquired suggestively at the mention of her boyfriend.

"Bloom, that is not appropriate!" Flora scolded, blushing.

"Lighten up, Flo! You know I'm just joking."

"Still, you poke fun at my relationship all the time!"

"Only because you make it so easy!"

She began rifling through the drawer, looking at everything else I'd crammed inside it. "What if I said something about you and Sky?"

I threw my hands up in innocence. "Go right ahead! My boyfriend and I have no secrets! Poke fun as much as you want!"

"That's not even fair." she huffed. "There's really nothing?"

I paused, my steady line faltering. " . . . I don't know. We sort of had a fight earlier."

Her brow furrowed, curiously. "About what?"

Setting the pencil down for what felt like the millionth time today, I sighed. "It was weird. I thought it'd be nice to spend some quality time with him and his parents on Eraklyon for a few days, since our summer vacation time's been cut shorter this year. But, when I brought it up, he just freaked."

Flora frowned. "He freaked?"

"Yeah, it was really strange. He started coming up with all of these excuses about how he had 'things he had to take care of.' I don't know why he'd do that. It's not like I didn't get along with his parents the last time we went there or anything."

She said nothing, but the way she was toying with the handle of the drawer sparked an interest in me.

"What?" I asked.

"It's nothing," she insisted. "It's just . . . maybe they caught wind."

"Caught wind of what?"

"Maybe they caught wind of what happened in Real–"

"Don't." I interrupted, quickly returning to my drawing.

"It's a possibility, though."

I shot her a look, a warning that she was crossing a line.

If there was one thing that I didn't want to talk about in my relationship with Sky, it was that. It had already caused a sore spot between me and him, and the thought that it could've created another with me and his parents was one that I absolutely did not need.

Unafraid of my wrath, she shot one right back.

"Fine." I mumbled, unintentionally making an extremely dark line on the paper. "_Maybe_."

Flora smiled and put a reassuring hand on my shoulder. "I don't do this to upset you, sweetie. I do it because I care."

"Yeah, yeah," I pushed the paper aside, unhappy with what I was coming up with.

She laughed cheerily and stood up. "Come on; let's go get Stella and the others before someone gets killed. We all can go get some pizza or something."

Standing up, I grabbed the purse I'd laid next to my suitcase. "I am all for a pizza!"

Her face turned serious. "Before we go, I know you don't like talking about." she said, carefully. "But, if you ever do want to talk about the Realix thing, I'm here. I know it must've been really traumatic for you, and I want to know you're okay."

Shifting the bag on my shoulder to ease the tension in my body, I shook my head. "I'm good, Flo."

She gave me the same look she had earlier.

"I am, really. All I want to do is forget about it. Can we just go get some pizza?"

Frowning disapprovingly, she nodded. "Fine, fine. But, like I said–"

"I get it, Flora! If I need a therapist, I will call you!"

* * *

Alfea's courtyard was nearly bare by the time Flora and I got there. Most of the students had already left, dying to get out and go home to their families.

But, of course, we were the oddball group.

The remaining four (Stella, Musa, Tecna, and Layla) had bunched together near the well at the center of the courtyard, waiting for us to join them. We could hear Stella the moment we stepped outside, ranting about my 'atrocious' idea for how to separate her clothes.

"Stella, you complain about everyone's fashion choices!" Musa exclaimed, throwing her hands up in the air. "Why would you trust our choices for you when you hate the ones we make for ourselves?"

Stella looked offended "Because you are my friends, Musa! I hoped that I had taught you all enough to at least put together a decent outfit." She gave the musician's outfit a once-over, her flared nostrils an indication she disapproved. "Clearly I was wrong."

"Wasn't she banging on her door asking for her help not half an hour ago?" Flora whispered to me, smiling.

I shrugged. I never understood how Stella's mind worked, and frankly, I didn't really care to. If I tried, I figured I would spontaneously combust from all the confusion.

"Now, here is a well-taught pupil!" Stella announced as we arrived, her eyes landing on me. "Bloom, the sweater and the boots –good choices, keep making them!"

Giving her a fake smile, I nodded. "I try."

"Speaking of fashion," Layla interrupted, "did you ever finish packing?"

The princess frowned, crossing her arms. "No, unfortunately. I have to finish dividing my clothes into "Mom" and "Dad' when we get back."

"By my calculations, you can't properly divide your wardrobe for two separate locations. Your clothes don't amount to an even split." Tecna said as she typed furiously into her miniature laptop.

"_What_?"

"You calculated her wardrobe?" I asked, amazed. "Is that even possible?"

"It's Tecna." Musa replied. "Are you honestly surprised?"

"I don't believe you!" Stella denied, crossing her arms. "I was able to split it last year!"

"Yes, but you have to take into consideration the new clothes that you bought this year." the tech-savvy fairy said. "Your wardrobe has considerably increased and, in doing so, you managed to arrive at an odd number."

Her jaw dropped, eyes searching around for a logical explanation. She suddenly looked at me, practically begging for me to make everything better.

"Don't look at me." I said, holding my hands up. "I'm the one who told you it was a bad idea to buy the entire Wizrahi collection."

Stella became distraught. "I'm checking this out for myself! Where are my bags?"

Instantly, I perked up. "I got this!" I yelled, spinning around to face the balcony where our dorms were.

Flora put a hand on my shoulder, her expression filled with worry. "Are you sure this is a good idea, sweetie? You know what Ms. F said about your powers–"

"Flo, my powers are fine." I insisted, wanting to prove her wrong.

"But Bloom –"

"_Hitherus_!"

The doors that led to the balcony suddenly burst open, a line of suitcases pouring out of them (it didn't even create a dent in the amount Stella actually had, but it was a start). The sight was enough to make everyone in the courtyard stop and stare.

"See?" I said, a triumphant smirk crossing his face. "I'm totally in control."

I regretted saying it the second it left my mouth.

Layla jumped in as soon as the bags started to fall to the ground. "Don't worry; it's my turn to get this!"

I don't think Stella had ever been happier that Layla had expert gymnastics skills than in that moment.

With a few well-timed jumps and flips, Layla successfully caught a suitcase on each arm and one ankle, somehow managing to balance on just one foot. Stella nearly passed out from relief, whining about how they were her 'precious babies.'

"Well, that was a close one."

"Not close enough," Musa said. "Look."

Directing our attention back to the balcony, we saw one final suitcase fly out of the doors. For a moment, we thought it would follow the same path as the others, until Tecna decided to speak up. "Based on the trajectory and speed of that bag, if Layla doesn't move within a few seconds, it's logical to say that –"

The suitcase collided with Layla before she could finish.

Musa shook her head, sadly. "Be a little faster there next time, Tec."

"_My couture_!" Stella screamed in agony, her eyes wide as she scanned through the now-open suitcases scattered across the courtyard. "Do you know how long it took me just to separate those four bags?"

"I think it's safe to say that you've still got a bit of dark magic lingering." Flora said, keeping her voice low enough for only us.

I opened my mouth to say something snippy, but then decided against it. Sure, I could be mean to Stella or Musa, but I couldn't bring myself to go that low around Flora.

"Wait, what's that?"

All of us looked up to the sky to see a bright sun flare appear before us. The intensity of the flare mixed with the brightness of the sun was enough to nearly blind us, forcing us to squint. Stella barely seemed to notice, looking straight at it.

"It's a Sungram from Solaria! Wanda's the official palace messenger!"

Squinting to see through the light, I could barely make out the hologram of a blonde woman holding a scroll in her hand.

"The Royal Court of Solaria is pleased to announce our official Princess Ball." a woman's voice rang out, followed by a loud trumpet sound.

There was another flash of bright light and the woman was gone, replaced by an outline of a man in regal garb that I didn't recognize. "You're going to love your party, Stella. And I have a surprise announce I'm going to make there that I believe will make you very happy."

The flare flashed once then completely dissipated, only leaving a trail of smoke in its stead.

Surprisingly, silence followed the Sungram. Blinking away the black spots that filled my vision, I glanced over at Stella. Her jaw was dropped in shock, a wide smile spreading over her face.

"Oh no."

Stella screeched, jumping up and down, the suitcases sprawled across the ground forgotten. "I can't believe it! I'm actually going to have a Princess Ball!"

"Stella, calm down!" Layla yelled, trying to tame the blonde. "You're scaring the other students."

"Um, I don't particularly like to sound dumb," I said, confused, "but what's a Princess Ball?"

"Something stupid," Musa commented under her breath.

"It's like a princess's coming out to society," Flora explained.

"We don't have anything like that on Zenith," Tecna declared, typing furiously into her mini laptop again. "But, according to my research, it's a special ball held by a princess's parents on her eighteenth birthday. It's merely a social gathering to publicly announce that the heir to the throne will soon begin her training."

"Training?" I asked.

"Princesses have to have special training lessons before ascending. The people want a well-rounded, proper ruler."

"It's the most amazing thing in the entire universe!" Stella shouted, still jumping. "I didn't think I'd have one because of my parents' split! But I was wrong! And I'm so happy that I was wrong! This is so exciting!"

Musa turned to look at me, nodding. "So, like I said," she told me, "something stupid."

As much as I didn't want to rain on Stella's parade, I had to agree with Musa. Holding a ball in honor of a princess going into training for her ascension to the throne seemed a bit over-exaggerated. Was it really necessary to go to such lengths over something that a princess is supposed to do anyway?

It wasn't even her birthday . . .

It wasn't even _August_. It's _June_.

_Hell, she'd already turned eighteen_!

"I am so lost," I muttered to myself, pinching the bridge of my nose. "I have so much work to do before this weekend!" Stella exclaimed. "I have to buy a dress, and shoes, and jewelry, and send the invitations, and –"

There was a deadly silent pause.

Looking back over at Stella, I noticed a mischievous smile spread across her face as her eyes landed on me.

"No."

"Oh, Bloom, please?" she begged, clasping her hands together. "There's no way I can get this done all by myself!"

"I have to go back to Earth, Stel! We only have a few weeks off this year; I want to see my parents."

"But it's tradition for the princess to have her best friend at the ball! This is a once in a lifetime thing! Please?"

Frankly, the last thing I wanted to do was attend a ball. It wasn't that I didn't want to go for Stella, but it was the fact that I'd never been to one before. I didn't have the luxury of having princess lessons or learning how to act around royalty, like the other girls. Sure, Sky's family was royalty, but I always guessed at what to do around them. And –big surprise– I tended to choose the wrong things to do.

The thought of expressing that concern to Stella though was instantly brushed off. Stella had the ability to acknowledge other people's feelings, but empathizing with them was another story.

Sighing in defeat, I ran a hand through my hair. "Alright, fine. I'll tell Mike and Vanessa I'll be a few days late."

Stella screeched again and threw her arms around me, squeezing tightly. "This is going to be so amazing!"

Musa started snickering and leaned close to my ear. "You are so screwed."

* * *

_*bursts out of the ground Ichabod Crane style* I AM ALIVE!_

_Alright, I'm going to keep this very short because I have a 5:30 wake up call for school and it's already 12:00 at night. _

_So, as we all can see I have returned with a rewrite, you could say, of the third season of Winx Club! Yes, I am very aware that it is not like what it is in the show -that's the point. There is a very slight chance that I may do a few edits on this chapter just to make sure that I got everything correct -nothing major, just a few itty bitty tweaks to some words and whatnot. _

_Hopefully, I should have the next update done by the end of my fall break, so be on the look out for chapter two!_

_-Bloom_


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

"A masquerade!"

"I will not show up if it's a masquerade."

"What's wrong with a masquerade?'

"We are not the most coordinated group of fairies, Stell! We'll be standing right next to each other and we'll get lost!"

Flora looked at me from across the table, eyes pleading for me to stop Stella and Musa's bickering.

I shrugged, shaking my head. The idea that I had the ability to stop them was futile in itself.

"We won't get lost. We're the Winx Club, Musa! For Dragon's sake, we stand out whether we like it or not!" Stella suddenly glared at all of us. "And we _will_ stand out."

"Why do you want a masquerade, Stella?" I asked, interrupting the argument. "Your party's already going to make the news."

"I know, Bloom, but it's _my_ party; therefore, I will make sure it goes down in history."

"And a masquerade will make history how?"

"Solaria hasn't had a masquerade ball in over 200 years. If Stella chooses to make her theme masquerade then it will not only be labeled as the most eccentric party of the year, but also one that could have the potential to make history books." Tecna said from her spot by the door of the empty pizzeria we were in.

I nearly spat out my drink. "There hasn't been a masquerade on you planet in 200 years?"

Stella nodded. "It's a tragedy that they're such a rarity." she sighed, almost dreamily. "They're so romantic."

"Yes, because that's what we're all looking for –multiple boyfriends." Layla said, crossing her arms.

"Or, for some, just _one_." Stella added, waggling her eyebrows at Layla.

The Princess of Tides rolled her eyes. "Stella, I don't need a boyfriend; nor do I want one. I've managed to survive seventeen years without one –the rest shouldn't be that difficult."

"Oh, come on, Layla! Your über-feminist ways are nothing compared to my matchmaker skills. I'm the queen of love! And you, my dear Layla, are in desperate need of a man." A devious smile crossed her face. "Plus, might I add, I am the reason why everyone else here has a boyfriend. I have connections."

"I'm going to laugh when your most prized pairing breaks up and ruins your matchmaker career."

Stella gasped in horror. "Don't even say that! Now you've jinxed Bloom and Sky!"

"My relationship is your greatest triumph?" I asked, curiously.

"Um, yes! You two have lasted the longest –aside from me and Brandon–, and I managed to get you two to meet within 24 hours of knowing you. If that's not a major accomplishment, what is?"

"Can we get the pizza and go, please?" Musa yelled, breaking up the talk about boys. "I'm starving!"

Glancing over at Flora, she gave me a sad half-smile. Both of us knew it was anything but paradise in Musa's love life. We all had thought she and Riven had grown closer since the fight in Realix until she came to Flora one night a few weeks ago, wondering how to handle his attitude.

I can guarantee if you look up the word, you'll find Riven's face plastered across the page with his stupid spiked hair. It wasn't a surprise to anyone that he was a total jerk with an attitude problem, seeing that he always walked around with a sneer on his face. After the past two years of having to put up with him, however, he seemed to get a bit softer. Not much, but just enough to barely be noticed. And all because of Musa.

Ever since that night, though, any slight mention of boys seemed to set the musician off.

"Yes, I clearly remember being bribed to come out with pizza." I agreed. "However, there is no pizza in my hands."

"You all are such babies." Stella complained, walking over to the counter. "You two have feet!"

"Says the girl who claims she can't change the channel because she just got a _pedicure_." Musa mumbled.

The bell on the door to the pizza parlor rang out, disturbing the peace and quiet. I didn't recognize any of the three girls that walked in. All I could tell was that they definitely weren't from any school on Magix, judging by their burgundy uniform dresses. The one that seemed to act as the head of the group was a tall, skeleton-thin girl with a badly done black dye job that was a stark contrast to her pale skin. She had tried to make up for it with her dark eye makeup, but it wasn't complementing her whatsoever –neither was the drawn-on mole high up on her right cheek.

The three girls approached the counter next to Stella, the one in front giving her the evil eye.

"Why do I get the feeling that we're about to break out into a fight?" Musa asked under her breath.

"Because we've had a fairly decent day, and that's against the natural balance of things."

Just as the chef was about to put the pizza box in Stella's hands, the first girl reached out and grabbed it. _Here we go_, I thought as I instantly jumped up to stand next to Stella.

"Excuse you!' Stella yelled, putting her hands on her hips. "That's ours!"

The girl held her nose high in the air, believing she was superior to us. "Possession is nine-tenths of the law." she replied, her voice light and edgy.

"Good," I said, glaring at her. "Then my fireball is going to take possession of nine-tenths of your face."

"Bloom!" Flora warned from behind me.

Stella leaned over the counter to look for the chef. "Whatever. Hey, chef guy, when's the next one going to come out?"

"Twenty minutes!"

"You won't mind waiting." the girl said, smirking.

"No, _you_ won't mind waiting!" Stella snapped, grabbing and pulling the pizza box towards her.

The tug sent both girls flying across the room, pizza toppings getting all over their designer dresses. Despite how horrified each of them was, they shot to their feet with a stain removal spell to save their clothes.

"_Vanishus_!"

"_Stainus Removus_!"

"Ugh, what are you?" the girl asked, her nose turned up in disgust. "Alfea fairies?"

"Yeah!" Stella exclaimed, angrily. "What are you?"

Over-dramatically spinning around, she snapped her fingers high in the air. "Betas."

Her two friends started to do a horribly basic dance routine behind her, their smirks matching hers. "_Tick, tock! Tick, tock! Betas, rule! Betas, rock!_"

I had to bite my lip to stifle the laughter that was about to spill out of my throat. Catching Musa out of the corner of my eye, I saw that she had to turn around o hide how red her face was getting.

"Where's Beta?" Stella asked with a laugh. "In the realm of Cutesy?"

"At least we're not from the realm of Dork!" she spat, rage in her eyes.

Her friends snapped their fingers. "Snap, snap!"

Musa buried her face in her hands to keep from laughing out loud.

"Anyway," Flora said, stepping a little in front of Stella, "what are you girls doing in Magix? I know the Beta Academy is a good distance from here. You must've traveled so far for something important."

"Chimera's having a Princess Ball." one of the groupies spoke up in her nasally voice, nodding towards the lead girl.

"Oh, really? It's a small world after all then, isn't it, Bloom?"

Looking up at her, I furrowed my brow. "What?"

She subtly jerked her head towards the Beta girls, silently asking for my help.

"Right!" I chirped, jumping to Flora's aide with a wide, fake smile. "Stella's having a Princess Ball, too! Isn't that right, Stell?"

Her brown eyes glared at the wall on the other side of the room, refusing to acknowledge that I'd spoken to her.

"_Stella_."

She glared up at the ceiling, clearly annoyed with me. "Yes, _Bloom_, I am having a Princess Ball, too." Malice and sarcasm dripped off every word.

"We're dress shopping." the nasally one added.

"Cool, so are we!" Flora said, holding her hands together. "We have so much in common. It's so nice to meet other fairies from a different magic school."

Chimera's lip curled, her brow furrowed in detest. "What are you made of? Gumdrops and sugar plum pie?"

"Whoa, hold up!" Musa exclaimed, intervening at last. "You can say whatever you want to about Stella, but don't diss my girl, Flo!"

"Yeah!" Stella agreed, stepping forward, as well. "Aside from the comment about me, though."

"What are you going to do about it?" Chimera dared, getting in Stella's face.

There was definitely something between them that wasn't being said. I glanced over at Tecna and saw her giving me the same confused look, noticing the intensity.

"You know what?" I interrupted, hearing Stella growl. "I think it's time that we head to the mall, now."

"Good idea." Flora said, nodding in agreement.

"I'm not done here, yet!" Stella shouted, the tension between Chimera and her thickening by the minute.

"Let's go get that dress, Stell!" I said, beginning to drag the princess outside. She was too distracted by her fury to put up a decent fight, allowing me to easily get her to the door.

Just as I was about to get her out the door, she snapped back into reality with a smug grin on her face. "By the way, while you're shopping, that pre-teen meets Goth look is very becoming on you. You should really stick with it."

"Stella!" I snapped, slapping her shoulder.

Tecna suddenly spun around, snapping her fingers. "_Snap_!"

"_Tecna, I swear to God_!"

"Good one, Tec!" Stella said, smirking as we shoved her out the door.

* * *

Magix is one of the most popular tourist cities of the Magic Dimension, always bustling with people –and today was no exception. Tourists and natives alike milled about the sidewalks, some even dared the streets, passing around us as we stood outside the only mall that Stella would buy her 'dream dress' at.

"I call not helping you buy a dress." I announced, already turning to walk away.

"Ditto." Musa chimed, following me. "If you need us, we'll be at the music store and getting another pizza somewhere else."

"Dear God, you know me so well."

A firm grip on my arm jerked me back to an unsatisfied Stella. "Bloom, you are going to help me with this; and you will like it."

My shoulders slumped and I groaned like a five year old. "But I want to get pizza with Musa! I was promised pizza, dammit!"

"I thought you wanted to get your hair spelled." Flora piped up curiously, looking over at Musa.

The musician paused, her countenance blank. "Oh yeah. Sorry, B."

"I thought we had something special." I sighed, disappointed. "Flo?" I spun towards the brunette fairy, hopeful.

She smiled, meekly. "I was going to meet up with Helia for a while."

My face fell. If there was one thing I despised more than shopping with Stella, it was being a third wheel with Flora on one of her 'dates' with Helia. "Tec?"

"Sorry. I'm going to a video game tournament to study the enhancements on Timmy's new game."

". . . Layla?"

"I'm going surfing."

I hung my head in defeat. "You're killin' me Smalls."

All of the girls stared at each other, clearly not comprehending my reference.

"Forget it, it's an Earth thing!" I explained, not bothering to fight back as Stella grabbed my wrist and started dragging me toward the doors of the mall.

"We love you!" Musa called after us. Lucky for her, she ran off before I had the chance to chase after her.

I tore out of Stella's grip and frowned. Glaring at the blonde, I crossed my arm unhappily. "I hope you're happy with yourself."

Laughing, she threw an arm around my shoulder. "I promise we'll go get another pizza later. But right now, we have more important things to take care of!"

I had never endured a mall as mind-numbing as the one we went in. I was certain I would have nightmares about it for weeks after we left. Seventy floors, each a different store with different selections. Being a third wheel on one of Flora's dates was quickly turning into a better option after the fifth floor.

"I am so done with this." I murmured as we ascended to the next floor.

"Oh, please. We've barely scratched the surface." Stella reprimanded, strolling onto yet another platform.

My eyes widened. "But this is the fifteenth floor . . ."

"Don't be such a baby. Remember, you're going to have to try on dresses, too." The same bright light enveloped her for a few moments, leaving her in . . .

"_Whoa_! _What_?" I shouted in protest, not expecting that statement to fly out of her mouth.

"Too sparkly?" she inquired, picking up the pink skirt.

"I'm not talking about the dress! Why do _I _need a dress? I have plenty of dresses!"

Stella put her hands on her hips, narrowing her gaze while her newly done ponytail swished behind her. "Bloom, you will not go to my Princess Ball wearing some thirty dollar dress you picked up at a JCPenney's on Earth that you've worn five times to other events."

I matched her glare, plopping down in the nearest chair I could find. ". . . That's cheating. You know I don't have anything else."

A triumphant smirk lit up her face. "You're just lazy. I know how you are."

"Um, no, it's called recycling," I defended. "And, last I checked, that was a good thing."

"Not in fashion, my dear! Which is why you will get up here and try some on."

"Ew, no."

She glared at me, trying to put every ounce of intensity she could into it.

"You find your dress first!" I told her, desperate to find an out. "It's your ball; you finding a dress is the most important thing right now."

"My best friend has to look hot, too!" She paused, thinking over her statement for a moment. "Well, not as hot as me . . . but very close to it!"

I couldn't not roll my eyes. "Will you just focus on you so this can go by faster? Pizza is calling my name and I have half a mind to run away!"

"Okay, okay! Calm down, Miss Anger Management Issues!"

Going back to trying on what seemed like hundreds of designer dresses, I reached into my pocket and pulled out my phone, searching for Tecna's number. Pressing on the text box, I rapidly typed out my message: _Are you too busy to run a search on what's up between Chimera and Stella?_

I got a reply not two minutes later: _I started running a scan of the web the moment we left the pizza shop_.

And that's why I love Tecna.

Stella and I were still on the same floor of the mall an hour later, going through dress after dress after dress. I was slumped down in my chair, giving Stella a thumbs-up or a thumbs-down with each gown she tried on.

After yet another flash of bright light, she was standing in a strappy, crimson-colored, silk and sheer dress that had large crystal circles down the center that held the open front together, with a headband to match.

Stella's eyes widened as she looked in the mirror. "This is it!" she instantly screamed, twirling around on the platform. "This is the dress!"

I raised an eyebrow, my eyes catching the exposed-ness of the dress. "Not to be a letdown or anything, but isn't that a little too . . . I don't know, _out there_? I've never been to a Princess Ball, but I'm pretty sure that's not –"

Glancing down at the fabric, she shook her head in disappointment. "Bloom, I swear, you're such a virgin to fashion. It makes me sad."

"Can we just buy the dress and leave, please?" I asked, feeling my muscles strain from trying not to set my jaw.

"Hold up, hotshot!" she said, bringing up a hologram of a keypad. "We have to find out where it is."

"You're wearing it!"

"Oh, Bloom, you're so adorably naïve. Don't you remember what I said on the way here? They way these stores are set up, you can try on any dress from any designer. And this one, according to the chart here–" She gasped audibly, bringing a hand to her heart.

"What is it?" I asked, stepping only close enough to reach the edge of the platform.

"There's only one!" she replied, continuing to be horrified. If it were me, I would've been more horrified by the price. I guess that's one of the perks of being filthy rich. "And it's at the boutique a few blocks down!" Leaping off the platform, she grabbed my arm and began dragging me back through the store.

"Can't we slow down?" I asked, trying not to stumble down the stairs. "How are you even going this fast in heels?"

"We'll go get you a dress later!" Stella shouted, completely ignoring my request. "But I have to get this dress before someone else steals it!"

"Stella, no one is going to buy your dress!"

That was the second thing I regretted saying that day.

Not one second after the words left my mouth, we ran past a flash of bright red. Stella screeched to a halt in the middle of the aisle, turning around at a deadly slow pace. Following her gaze, my eyes almost popped out of my head as I saw the girl wearing Stella's dress.

Chimera.

"Kill me now," I muttered, beginning to try and get Stella's attention again. "Just leave it alone, Stella. If you want to beat her to getting the dress, we have to leave. As in, leave the mall. Like, now."

Stepping past me, she stormed over to Chimera, eyes aflame. "What do you think you're doing wearing my Princess Ball dress?"

"You mean _my_ Princess Ball dress." she corrected, smirking at Stella.

"She's just trying to rile you up, Stel." I muttered in Stella's ear. "Don't let her get to you. This is what she wants. Let's just go."

"Well, there's only one like it, and it's going to be mine!"

The spell on both of them faded, leaving the girls in their normal clothes once again. Chimera stepped off the platform, stopping when she was beside Stella. "Oh, your shoe's untied."

Stella stared down at her shoes, confused. "What? No, it's not."

Chimera suddenly shoved Stella forwards, causing her to fall down on the nearest platform. Just as I was about to run over, one of the girls from her posse shoved me over to the other side, making me fall onto the other platform.

"_Barrier Lockdown_!" Chimera shouted, snapping her fingers towards us.

Standing up to go after her, the platforms we were on we haywire, surrounding with a translucent green barrier meant to keep us inside it Stella went to kick the wall, but her feet were immediately forced back to the ground, freezing her.

"Later, Alfea wannabes!" she bade before stalking off with her friends flanking her.

"I cannot believe I fell for that!" Stella exclaimed, continuing to struggle with moving. "All of my shoes have an anti-untie spell on them!"

"Stella, you idiot!" I yelled, glaring at her. "You don't even have shoe laces! You're wearing _sandals_!"

Glancing back down at her shoes, she made a tiny noise of surprise. "Oh, well would you look at that . . ."

Rolling my eyes, I reached up and ran my hands through my hair. "Stella, one of these days, I'm going to just–"

"You can move!"

Puzzled by what she said, I furrowed my brow. "What?"

"You can move!" Stella said. "You're not supposed to be able to move!"

Curiously looked around at the barrier surrounding me, my curiosity grew. I could sense it was a powerful spell, but my Dragon Fire could've easily deflected it. If the spell had no effect on me, what all could I do to it?

Focusing my energy into my hands, I hesitantly reached towards the green wall. Barely an inch away from it, I gently tapped it. The barrier immediately shattered, freeing me from the useless spell.

Leaping off the platform, I turned and ran towards Stella's.

"No, go!"

I came to an abrupt halt. "What?"

"Go after them! Get to the dress before they do!"

"I'm not going to leave you here when I can easily break you out!"

"Go!" Stella demanded. "The spell will fade as soon as they get out of range! Put a hold on the dress until I get there!"

I frowned, reluctant. "What if they get there first?"

"Don't think like that! Honestly, I don't care what you do! Just stop her!"

Giving her a final glance, I dashed off in Chimera's direction. Pushing past a number of people in the store, I tripped over my own feet as I stumbled out the sliding doors. Taking a second to steady myself again, I turned my head just in time to see Chimera and her roadies look back to check if we were following them.

Her eyes widened in surprise as she saw me and cursed loudly, taking off in the other direction.

"Hey!" I yelled, running after them.

In spite of their stupidly high heels, the Beta girls were fast –extremely fast. Due to my late start, I was half a block behind them, failing to gain any speed. I could barely run without heels, so the ones I had on now weren't helping me at all. I wasn't going to catch up to them at this pace.

_You could always use less than conventional methods to get to them_.

The moment I finished the thought, I shook my head to get rid of it. I didn't need to use magic to win this; I'd be fine.

Stella's words echoed in the deep recesses of my mind, loud and tempting. _I don't care what you do! Just stop her!_

Suddenly, I didn't want to run anymore. I didn't want to be half a block behind them. I wanted to be half a block _in front_.

Without any time to think, there was a bright flash before my eyes. The moment it disappeared, I was somewhere else. I was still in Magix City, but . . . on a different street? Looking around at the surrounding signs, my jaw dropped as I recognized the street I'd landed on.

Half a block ahead of Chimera

I didn't have much time to dwell on what happened, catching a glimpse of black hair behind me.

"What the –?" Chimera exclaimed, coming to a stop. "You were  
just–"

"What's your deal?" I interrupted. Approaching her, I could see a tiny flicker of fear deep in her eyes.

"My deal? What's _your_ deal?"

"Clearly you have a beef with Stella." I ignored her. "I get it. She gets it. We all get it. But you two just met; there's no way this fight is just over a stupid pizza.

"Now, since I don't like to meddle with other people's affairs unless I absolutely have to," I said, "we're going to settle this with a short and simple solution. So, you're going to stop being a little bitch and I'm going to get Stella's dress, then we're both going to go our separate ways so we never have to look at each other ever again."

I could see the attitude in her expression as she crossed her arms. "And if I don't?"

I sighed, trying to contain the darkness in me that screamed to burn her to a crisp. "If you don't, I'm going to tie all of you up with a fire rope and –"

A terrifyingly cold chill pierced my soul, stunning me into silence. The only time I'd ever felt something this cold was when Icy froze me in a block of ice during freshmen year. A chill that radiated down to every nerve and vein in my body.

Chimera glanced behind her, confused by my sudden quiet demeanor.

And then it shattered.

Every frozen bone and muscle inside me was shed of its icy covering with so much force I was thrown to the sidewalk, gasping for breath as if I'd re-surfaced from being held underwater.

Oblivious to what was causing my odd reaction, Chimera took off, ushering the others to follow her.

"Bloom!"

I remained on the sidewalk, shaking with fear and cold, as Stella appeared, kneeling down beside me. "Are you okay?" she asked, eyes wide with concern. "What did she do to you?"

"It wasn't her." I managed to rasp out, my throat instantly raw.

"Then who was it?" Slinging my arm around her shoulders, she eased me back onto my feet, keeping me from collapsing back onto the pavement.

I shook my head, staring where Chimera and her friends had run off. "I don't know."

* * *

We didn't get back to Alfea till dusk, the sun barely giving off any rays. Tecna had sent me a text, reminding us about the eight o'clock curfew, but neither of us truly cared.

Stella had been blatantly upset when we reached the dress shop, finding that Chimera had beaten us there. While she had been throwing her temper tantrum outside, I'd tried asking if the worker was sure that it had been the only dress. What caught my attention more than the lack of stock on the dress was how she'd referred to Chimera as the Princess of Solaria. I wanted to ask about it, but I didn't dare bring it up around Stella –even if she _was_ outside of the building.

We ended up trudging back to the mall to try and find another dress before the last bus to Alfea took off.

"I'm sorry you didn't get your dream dress."

"It's cool." Stella said, shrugging. "You did what you could. It's not like you asked to have that attack or anything. You certainly did more than what the other girls would have done if they were in your place."

I laughed. "Yeah, if it was Musa, she wouldn't have even left the store."

"I wouldn't have been able to get her _in_ the store! Besides, it's not like I didn't get a dress."

"But it wasn't the dress that you _wanted_. If that _thing_ would've happened just a few minutes later, I would have been golden." I muttered, pushing my hair back behind my ear.

"Hey," she snapped, her voice becoming stern, "don't beat yourself up over it."

Fiddling with my fingers, nervously, I stared off in the darkness around us. "Could I ask you a favor?"

"Yeah, anything."

"Could you . . . you know, _not _tell anyone about what happened –to me, at least?"

She looked at me as if I'd grown five heads. "Bloom –"

"Stel, please? I don't know want anyone making a big deal out of this."

"It was a big deal!"

"_Was_. That's it –it's over now."

She sighed, hesitant. "Fine. I won't say anything. But if something like it happens again, I'm saying something!"

Close enough. If there was one thing I'd learned from being friends with Stella in the past few years, it was that arguing with her was always pointless.

"So, what do you think your surprise is?" I asked her, changing the subject.

Stella gave me a curious look. "What surprise?"

"In that Sungram, your dad said something about having a surprise for you." I elaborated, kicking a rock with the tip of my shoe.

She shrugged, not as exuberant as she was earlier in the day. "Well, Wanda did say it was from the Royal Court," she said. "And the Royal Court includes Dad _and_ Mom . . ."

My head shot up, astounded by her implication. "You think your parents are going to get back together?"

Stella nodded, biting her lip excitedly.

"But I thought your parents couldn't stand each other," I said. "You said it yourself that they can't even walk on the same street without wanting to kill each other."

"I know, it's ridiculous," she agreed. "Is it so bad to hope for it, though?"

A pang of guilt struck me. I'd never noticed just how vulnerable Stella was when discussing her parents. It was common among kids with divorced parents –wishing for them to reunite– but from what I'd heard from Stella, that was a one in a million chance.

Nevertheless, I couldn't bring myself to crush her hopes. Back on Earth, my friend (and ex-boyfriend) Andy had had that same hope. He, however, had been in deeper than Stella. Everyone and everything knew about his dream for his parents to get back together. When his father found out though, he didn't dance around Andy's emotions; crushed them instantly in an argument that I had regrettably been present for. Andy was never the same after that night.

If Stella had that hope, I surely wasn't going to be the one to destroy it.

"No," I told her, averting my eyes back to my feet. "No, it's not."

After a few minutes of walking, we finally reached the dorm. It wasn't a surprise that all the girls were still wide awake, waiting for us.

"So, how did dress shopping go?" Flora asked the moment we walked in.

"Horrible!" Stella shouted, not bothering to sugarcoat it. "That Goth chick Chimera went and stole the dress I was going to buy for my party!"

"First pizzas, now dresses," Musa muttered, pretending to be solemn as she played with her newly lengthened pigtails. "She's escalating."

"But, we didn't come back empty-handed!" I positively reminded Stella, glad that she kept her word to not say anything about what happened during the chase. "And it appeared that Musa didn't either, little Miss Long Hair over there!"

"Musa, it looks so good!" Stella praised, shocked. "You look like a girl now!"

"What don't you tell them about your dress, Stella?" I immediately suggested, catching a glimpse of the fury in the musician's eyes.

She crossed her arms with a huff. "I had to settle for a pink Fairygamo. It's not as fabulous as the other one, but it was nice."

"You spent over five-thousand dollars on it; it better be nice." Taking the time to look around the room, I sensed someone missing. "Where's Layla?"

The other girls looked at each other, wary. "She was . . . called away, in a sense."

"Called away?" Stella asked. "Like on a princess thing?"

"We guess. We were all hanging out on the beach waiting for you two when things got weird." Musa added to Flora's statement, worry replacing her anger.

"Got weird?" I repeated.

"This huge tidal wave," she nodded. "It came out of nowhere; had to be the size of the Council building."

"After we helped everyone get out of the water, though, it just collapsed on itself." Tecna said. "I tried to research any similar anomalies, but nothing came up."

"Then a mermaid showed up."

My eyes widened, surprised. "A _mermaid_?"

"Yes, Bloom, they exist, too. But, moving on," the musician rolled her eyes. "She was looking for Layla, then said, 'Code Word: Sandbar.'"

"Code Word: Sandbar?" Stella reiterated, shaking her head at the ridiculous name. "What does that mean?"

"Who knows? But the next thing we knew, Layla dove in the water and disappeared with her." Tecna finished. "We haven't received any word from her since."

"She's going to miss the party of the century if she doesn't hurry back!"

I turned my head towards the blonde in disbelief. "_That's _your number one concern? Not 'I hope she's okay?'"

"Well, yeah, Bloom, I'm worried!" she desperately claimed, realizing how her words sounded. "Let's not fret on it, though. It'll only just bring our moods down." Walking across the room, she glanced out the glass doors that led to the balcony. "Besides, Layla's tough; she can take care of herself."

"However, she does make snap judgments which do tend to lead her into trouble." Tecna pointed out.

"Oh, please, how many of us don't do that?"

"Both Tecna and Flora, I'm pretty sure." I said.

She aimed her finger at both of them, accusingly. "You wait! One of these days, _both of you_ are going to make snap judgments that are going to get you in trouble." Pausing, she smirked, maliciously. "And I'll be there to remind you of this very moment."

Musa raised an eyebrow, but then shook her head. "Alright, well, I have places to be, so I'm going to leave the psycho with all of you."

"You're leaving?" I asked.

"Already sent my bags to my dad's house." she said, nodding and walking to the door. "See you losers later!"

"I better see you at my party Saturday!" Stella screamed after her.

As she closed the door, Musa slung her arm back into the room, middle finger in the air. Stella gasped, insulted, turning away just as Musa finally closed the door.

After an hour more of talking, we all decided it was time to go to bed. None of us really wanted to, considering it would be our last night together in the dorm for a good month or so, but it was inevitable.

Not five seconds after my head hit he pillow, though, my phone went off, vibrating loudly. Quickly picking it up before it could catch Flora's attention, I looked down to see who was texting me.

"Why is Tecna texting me when she's right next door?" I muttered to myself, opening it to look at the message.

_Couldn't find anything on Chimera that could link her to Stella. I'll try to look deeper tomorrow_.

Sighing, I fell onto the pillows again, setting my phone back on the nightstand. If Tecna couldn't find anything, it was no use in trying anything more. Staring up at the ceiling of the dorm, I felt a sense of dread that I couldn't shake. A sense that we wouldn't need the Realm Wide Web to figure out how Chimera was linked to Stella.

The answer was bound to find us, instead.

* * *

_Well, this went on a lot longer than I'd originally anticipated. This reached over 5,000 words and it originally wasn't . . . Oh well. WHAT'S DONE IS DONE. (From now on, just know that these chapter could go from 3,000 words to anything above that number.) _

_As you can see though, there was A LOT of content covered in this chapter, and a lot of description to portray that content -which is why I am a few days late on my promise to get it done on the 12th. I know I said it would be done on the 12th, but I wanted to be completely happy with the chapter and I wanted it to be a chapter that wasn't rushed for all of you, so I came up with this! Don't hate me for my lateness!_

_I screwed with this part of the episode so much and I am not sorry about it, whatsoever. And before I get reviews that say "BLOOM IS SO OOC OMFG" -yes, that's how she's supposed to be, due to specific plot points that will be revealed further on in the story. If you don't like, that's not my problem._

_Anyway, yay! Chapter 2 is done! And now we go on to Chapter 3 where one of my absolute favorite scenes of this whole first book (yes, I did say first book *unsubtle wink*) will make its fabulous debut! Once again, I will see you all again sometime in the next two to three weeks! And if you have any questions, feel free to leave them in a review, or better yet, message me and I will address it as soon as I possibly can!_

_~Bloom_


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

"Bloom, wake up! Don't you smell that? That's daylight burning!"

Storming out of my dorm, I slammed the door open. "I'm no more asleep than the last time you yelled at me, ten minutes ago!" I shouted, pinning a loose strand of hair back into my ponytail.

Setting _another_ one of her suitcases down in the common room, she glanced over at me. "No need to yell."

"When you're getting on me to hurry up every two seconds, I have every right to yell."

"Just calm down before your hot head sets something on fire."

Rolling my eyes, I walked back over to my bed to finish packing my last bag. When I had first arrived at Alfea two years ago, I came with a single suitcase. Sadly, not much has changed about that, except now I had _two _suitcases. (Yes, I know, it's very impressive.) I never felt the need to have a lot of things, in contrast to Stella who had to buy everything she laid her eyes on.

Stella had insisted on getting to Solaria as early as possible, banging on my door at eight in the morning. At first, I'd just ignored it, but it grew more difficult when she managed to unlock the door and steal every blanket in the room. I decided it was pointless to stay in the bed any longer after she took the pillows.

Zipping the suitcase shut, I took a final look around the dorm. The walls were bare; not a single thing adorning them. I always got a little sentimental after every year, knowing that I wouldn't be staying in this room anymore until I got back. It was ridiculous since I'd be moving back in in a few weeks, but it was still sad to see it so empty.

Flora had left earlier in the morning, along with Tecna. Each decided to go back to their home planets, wanting to relax for a few days before the ball.

I only wish I'd had that option.

Setting my last suitcase on the ground, I rolled it out into the common room, right next to the first one.

"Are you finally ready? It's already eleven!" Stella inquired, standing up to address me. The amount of suitcases that surrounded her was ungodly.

"I don't know, are you?" I joked. "I don't think you packed everything."

"I already sent the other half to Solaria like an hour ago."

I paused, quizzical, but decided not to delve deeper. "Then can we teleport ourselves now?"

She slipped off a large and circular pale blue ring on her finger and examined the orange gem in its center. "Yes, now that you've decided to finally grace everyone with your presence." Tossing it up into the air, it magically grew into a tall scepter and fell gracefully back into her hand.

"Are you not bringing Kiko?" she asked, looking around for my mischievous rabbit.

"Mike and Vanessa are taking care of him until I get back." I said. "I figured you wouldn't appreciate waking up to a bunny chewing a hole through your new dress."

"Very true. Now let's get this party started!"

Raising the scepter high above her head, she slammed it down into the ground. A great burst of white light exploded around us and we were shot into the air.

After all the times I've suffered through teleporting, I still wasn't used to it. The way you basically turned into a puddle that was being catapulted through the air while your stomach twisted and somersaulted; it most certainly was not missed.

The trip only lasted a few seconds, but to me it lasted an eternity until I stumbled onto my feet. And being my normal, graceful self, the queasiness I experienced got the best of me, making my legs wobble. Luckily, Stella noticed and caught me before I could hit the ground, commenting on how she'd never met anyone who reacted as negatively to teleporting as I did.

Taking a few seconds to regain my balance, I took my first look around. I was stunned. The Solarian palace was just as lavish as Stella had described, maybe even more.

We had landed in the center of the room, right next to a large, intricate fountain. The walls were made of pure alabaster, not a single area chipped or cracked. Sunlight poured in from the ceiling –or the lack thereof– making all of the wild plants spur with life. Not a single spot of darkness was in sight.

And that was just the garden.

"Welcome to Solaria!" Stella exclaimed, twirling her scepter back into a ring. "So, what do you think?"

I laughed in disbelief. "You all certainly know how to make an Earth girl feel inferior, that's for sure." A fluttering caught my attention and a small butterfly with bright blue wings and orange accents suddenly landed on my shoulder. It almost seemed to stare at me for a moment before flying away into the sun.

"Stella!"

She perked up at the husky, humble voice and immediately turned around, running. "Daddy!"

Watching her trail, I saw a tall older man standing across the garden, arms wide open. He had orange hair with faint traces of gray that matched his neatly groomed goatee. His clothes were regal, a color scheme of oranges, yellows, and tans. But what made me freeze was the shining golden crown on his head.

He was the guy from the Sungram.

Stella threw her arms around him, accepting his enormous hug. "I've missed you so much!" she said, smiling widely. "I have so much to tell you!"

"As have I, my princess." he replied. "But we have plenty of time to catch up. I know you're busy with planning your ball."

"The planning can wait a little while."

I was almost knocked back by this surprising side of Stella. I'd never seen her act so invested in another person besides herself and Brandon.

"And who is this?"

Stella's father's voice snapped me out of my thoughts. Both royals were looking at me, Stella continuing to beam.

"Daddy, this is Bloom." she introduced. "Bloom, this is my dad –King Radius."

Unsure of what to do, I quickly did something that looked like a mix between a curtsey and a bow. "Your Majesty. I'm sorry; I would've dressed nicer if I had known I was going to be meeting you the second we got here."

Stella sent me a cheeky smirk when she saw me glare daggers at her. I felt ridiculous dressed in only a sweater and leggings. She hadn't allowed me to have ten minutes to do anything to make myself look presentable. I had barely any make up on, and the ponytail I had sloppily thrown my hair up into wasn't looking any better.

I made a note to kill her later.

"Don't be ridiculous!" he chided, chuckling loudly. "Bloom, you're like family to my Stella. And I want you to behave here in the palace as if you were in your very own home."

I opened my mouth to speak, but Stella laughed, interrupting me. "Oh, trust me, Daddy, no you don't."

She barely acknowledged my scoff of indignation.

"Daddy, I'm going to show Bloom around, so I'll meet up with you later!" she grinned, pulling me behind her as she ran off towards the exit.

"What about our suitcases?" I asked, glancing over my shoulder.

"We're in my palace, Bloom, do you honestly think that people aren't going to come and get it?"

I never believed Stella when she said that I would get lost if I was ever in her palace. However, I was proved immensely wrong.

I'd never been down so many halls, seen so many rooms. It seemed that every room that we went to was more luxurious and more magnificent than the last.

There was no way I could've acted like this palace was my very own home –mine was, literally, over a hundred rooms smaller.

"Now, before we get started with everything else, I want to make a quick stop here." Stella said, halting in front of two massive double doors.

"What is it?" I asked, curiously looking around the corridor we were standing in.

"It's my most favorite room when a party like this comes around." Taking a step back, she swung the doors open, a wide grin on her face. "The Gift Room!"

My jaw almost dropped to the ground as we walked in the room. Each wall was nearly hidden by the tall piles of presents. There had to have been hundreds, possibly thousands of gifts in the room, barely leaving any space for us to walk around in.

"There's so many of them!"

"One from each of my party guests." She nodded. "Well, except Musa. She sent a note that said since she was being required to show up, she shouldn't have to be required to give me a present."

How fast could someone send a present? The party was just announced yesterday . . . "All of these are for _you_?"

"Yep! All for _moi_!" Recognizing my stunned reaction, she put her hands on her hips. "Oh, please, Bloom! Your Royal Treasure room on Sparx has more in it than this!"

"It's not _my _Royal Treasure room –it's Sparx's."

"That's not what Daphne said!"

"Well, Daphne's wrong."

Stella frowned, setting down the wrapped present in her hand. "Okay, what's up?"

I scrunched my brow, acting innocent. "What do you mean?"

She shot me a look.

Sighing, I leaned back against one of the stacks of presents. "I don't want it to be mine."

"Boo, that place was fabulous! What would you _not _want that?"

A pang of sadness struck in my chest. "Because if it's all mine then that means I'm the only one left."

Her face fell, comprehending my implication. "Well, then think of it as . . . _temporarily_ yours!" she said, trying to remain positive. "You know, like, it's yours until we find your parents!"

"_If_ we find my parents."

"_When_ we find your parents."

I raised my brow.

Walking over to me, she put her hands on my shoulders. "You have a lot of negative energy right now, I know. But you have to hold on to the hope that they could still be out there."

"Why?"

A small smile crossed her face and she gave me a tiny shrug. "Because if we don't have hope, what do we have left?"

I stared at her, smiling slightly. I knew it was ridiculous of me to just assume that my parents were gone after all these years of wondering what happened to them. Assuming they were dead was simply easier than keeping my spirits up –which was becoming harder to do ever since the incident a few months ago.

"Besides," she said, "we're the Winx. We don't get to be sad; we've all got jobs to do."

I started nodding in agreement, but then froze. "Did you just quote an Earth show?"

"Maybe I did, maybe I didn't!" she laughed, going back to inspecting her gifts. "I can't deny that Earth has some pretty good TV shows that I like to steal my fabulous advice from.

"But you shouldn't give up on them so easily," Stella added. "It may seem hard, but in reality, you just need to go do it. You'll never do it if you don't start somewhere!"

"I don't even know where to start." I said, shaking my head. "There's no record of what happened during the battle; I've searched Alfea's library over a hundred times."

Stella picked up one of the boxes by me and started looking it over. "Well, you could always look in our library."

I perked up, instantly. "You have a library?"

"Despite my lack of interest in anything with words, yes."

"Where is it?"

"Calm down, hot pants!" she said, laughing. "You are not going anywhere right now. You are going to stay here and help me with party details. If you're still this desperate tomorrow, I will personally draw up directions for you."

Reluctant, I crossed my arms, but didn't run out the door. "Fine. I'll stay, but what are we even doing here? You'll see all of these tomorrow!"

"I like to know how many presents I'm getting." she replied. "It gives me an idea of how long it'll take to open them all."

My eyes widened, slightly. "You calculated that math yourself?"

"After eighteen years of birthdays, I've learned that I can get through one-hundred and fifty presents per hour."

I could only blink at her, stunned by her selective mathematical ability and the number of presents she'd rattled off.

"I also like to know who got me things and who didn't." she continued.

"I didn't get you anything." I said, starting to feel guilty.

"You've been with me this whole time, when could you have? You have an excuse, and I wouldn't want one from you anyway."

"Why, because I'm a sucky gift picker?" I laughed.

She shook her head, her cheery expression faltering. "Bloom, after Avalon kidnapped–"

"Stella."

"No, let me finish! After Avalon kidnapped you, I didn't care about anything else. I couldn't eat, I couldn't sleep –I was freaking out." Tears began to well up in her eyes. "When I heard Tecna say that she could see you were going into total darkness . . . I thought you were dead. The whole time I was on that ship, that's all I could think about, and every moment I blamed myself."

"Why would you blame yourself?" I asked, my voice strained some. "It's not like you were aligned with Darkar or anything."

"I brought you here, Bloom." she snapped, her tone becoming serious. "I'm the one who brought you to Magix two years ago; I'm the one who got you in the Trix's line of fire; I'm the one who walked right past you when you were with Avalon. Dammit, Bloom, I even _spoke_ to you two that day, not minutes before it happened! If anything happens to you . . ." She let out a noise that sounded like a mix between a cry and a laugh. "How could I not blame myself for that?"

I stayed silent, averting my eyes to my feet.

"To me, the thought of you being dead was worse than you being dark, because, if you were dark, you were at least there." she said, a tear falling down her cheek. "If you were there, that meant that there was still a chance. There was still hope that I could redeem myself for being the one who stood by and let it happen to you.

"You're my best friend, Bloom. Seeing you –_alive_– in Realix was the best present I could've gotten."

Immediately, I pulled her into a tight hug, squeezing my eyes shut to hold back my own tears.

As I've said before, none of us talked about the situation in Realix. We never even addressed a single moment of it on our way back to Alfea after destroying Darkar. Faragonda had tried to get us some kind of counseling (mostly me), but all of us had refused it. Seeing Stella divulge all that baggage, though, made me start to think we should've taken her up on the offer.

"Never do that to me again." she said, using a spell to fix her make-up. "I can't go through something like that twice."

I scoffed, laughing a little. "I'll make sure to try to not get kidnapped next time."

"You know that's not what I meant!" she exclaimed, laughing with me. "Can we just make a promise to not get so involved with people who may be evil, bloodthirsty criminals?"

I shrugged. "Do you think we can make that kind of promise with our track record?"

"We can _try_ –huge emphasis on the trying part."

Nodding, I scrunched my brow, acting as if the idea of avoiding dangerous people would be a piece of cake for us. "Oh, yeah, definitely."

The sounds of footsteps entering the room suddenly echoed behind me.

"Hello, Stella."

Both of us looked towards the doorway to see a tall woman in an expensive-looking dress standing there. Her pale blonde hair was in a poofed out low-ponytail and her eyes were an odd shade of brown, almost appearing ginger in the light. The crown pinned in her hair was sharp and triangular with a large emerald in the center that matched her large earrings and pendant necklace. What I couldn't help but stare at though was her face –her tanned cheekbones looking sharp enough to cut a rock in half.

"Who's this?" I asked, glancing between Stella and the woman.

"May I introduce, Countess Cassandra!" Stella said, smiling. "_Tré_ tragic fashion sense." she added as a whisper in my ear.

Looking back at the Countess, I wasn't sure if I should bow or curtsey or what. Swallowing my embarrassment, I waved. "Hi there!"

_Nice going, Bloom. Settle for the stupidest response ever_.

Cassandra only gave me a curt nod, making me want to bash my head against one of the towers of presents.

"Countess, this is my best friend," Stella continued to introduce, "Princess Bloom of Sparx."

The royal's eyes widened slightly, recognizing the name. "Sparx?"

"Guilty," I said, laughing nervously.

"I thought everyone on Sparx perished?"

Slowly, I turned my gaze towards Stella, giving her a knowing look.

"You know what, keep your eyes to yourself." she muttered, pushing my head back to its original position. "As far as we know," Stella addressed Cassandra, "Bloom is the only survivor.

"But, onto happier news, will we be seeing you at the party tomorrow night?"

A pleasant smile appeared on Cassandra that had faint hints of strain. "I will be attending, as well as my daughter. In fact," she picked up a nearby unwrapped present, "this is the gift we got you."

Upon further inspection when it reached Stella's hands, it was a good-sized red velvet box. It was too large for a ring or a bracelet; my best guess being a necklace.

A blinding white light poured out of the box when she opened it, only giving me a second to see the beautiful necklace. It was a layered choker, strung with magenta colored crystals –the crystals being the source of the light.

"It's so pretty! And I'm sure it'll help me see in the dark if I'm ever without a flashlight!" she complimented as she closed it, unfazed by the brightness.

"I covered my eyes with my hands, trying to block out the darkness that replaced my vision. "Why must your realm always try to blind me?"

"You're such a baby."

"My daughter chose it. She's in the Advanced Sorcery Program at the world-renowned Beta Academy." Looking out the door for a moment, she beckoned someone forward. "Come say hello, Chimera."

My eyes nearly popped out of my head, and I immediately looked at the door. There was no way . . .

_The Chimera we know looks nothing like Cassandra, _I reassured myself. _And it's probably just a coincidence that this Chimera goes to the Beta Academy, too. It's totally possible that there are two girls named Chimera that go there!_

"Hello."

A flash of black hair and my assurances were crushed.

The same girl from Magix stepped into the room, nervously smiling at us. Everything about her was identical to the last time we saw her.

Glancing out of the corner of my eye, I saw monstrous rage creep into Stella's normally sane features.

"_You_!" Stella growled, teeth clenched. "You're the _dress thief_!" She instantly charged Chimera, getting mere inches from her face.

"My, my, what a small world after all, Your Highness." Chimera said, taking a step back.

"You locked me on a platform and stole my dress!"

"I don't understand," Cassandra said, confused and a bit terrified. "What's going on?"

"Well, Your Majesty, we all kind of ran into each other in Magix yesterday," I explained, "and, let's just say, they didn't exactly start off on the right foot."

"They didn't?"

I shook my head. "Yeah, no. No, none of us did. It was pretty bad. I'm pretty sure we're all banned from that pizza place now."

"I won that dress fair and square." Chimera claimed, continuing to play victim. "If it means that much to you, though, I'll gladly give you the dress right off my back."

I nearly fell over, taken aback by her statement. After that huge fight yesterday, she was just going to hand the dress over to Stella.

Stella was frozen in place, but still remained in Chimera's face.

"Stella?" I asked, unsure if she'd heard her.

I could almost see the steam begin to pour out of Stella's ears, furious. "_I will not wear your hand-me-downs to my Princess Ball! How dare you even suggest it_?"

Chimera's expression was full of anger when she heard Stella's answer, but instead of picking a fight, she surprisingly just turned around and stormed out of the room, muttering something under her breath about Stella being a 'pampered palace brat.'

Cassandra was right on her heels, the confusion on her face changing to something darker.

"That was a bit drastic, wasn't it?" I asked, ducking my head out the door to make sure they were gone.

"For who? Me or Dress Thief?"

I gave her a look.

"Okay, maybe." Stella huffed, crossing her arms. "I can't help it, though! I just hate her!"

"You don't have to justify yourself to me, I get it." I told her. "But, she _was_ trying to be nice. I mean, I don't trust that bitch, but she was still trying to be nice."

"I don't care!" Stella shouted, angrily. "She dared to try and give me a dress she'd already bought!" She looked at me in disbelief. "Do I _look _like I wear hand-me-down clothes, Bloom? Do I? _Do I_?"

"Calm down, Princess Meltdown!" I told her, flicking her in the cheek to snap her out of her psychosis. "It's just a dress!"

"It's not just a dress!"

"Then why didn't you take it?"

"Don't question me, Bloom! Just don't!" Taking a deep breath to calm herself down, she put a big smile on her face. "Let's just forget about everything that just happened in the last ten minutes, okay?"

Hesitantly, I nodded. "Sure."

"Alright, then! Let's go find your room!"

* * *

Bright sunlight blinded me from behind my eyelids, ripping me from sleep. "Bloom! Wake! Up!" Stella's shrill voice pierced through the room. "We have places to go; people to see!"

Squinting at the nightstand, I gave a tiny groan at the glowing numbers on my alarm clock. "It's dawn, Stella."

"Which means we only have so many hours till my party. Now get up!"

Ignoring her, I wrapped the blankets tighter around me. Two seconds later, they were torn away. In response, I merely curled up into a ball, snuggling into my pillow.

A small, magical tug suddenly lifted me in the air and dropped me onto the floor.

"What the hell!" I yelled, refusing to stand up. "It's not my party, why do I have to suffer?"

"Now, I have three dresses for the events." she declared, suing her magic to toss things out of her closet and onto the floor.

As she kept rambling on and on about what she planned to wear, I glanced over at the growing pile of clothes. Tuning her out completely, I crawled over to the pile and climbed on top of it, trying to fall back asleep.

"So, what do you think?"

I could suddenly feel her gaze burning into my back. I gave her a simple thumbs-up.

* * *

An hour later, after Stella had dragged me across the majority of the room to get ready, I was standing outside my bedroom, preparing to find the library Stella had told me about. She'd surprisingly kept to her word, handing me a folded piece of paper with directions that led straight o my destination, saying that she would meet me there when she was done getting her nails done.

"Alright," I muttered, unfolding the piece of paper. "_Go right until you reach the staircase in the main hall_. That sounds easy enough." Following Stella's directions, I turned right down the brightly lit hallway.

It was surprisingly quiet in that part of the palace. Everywhere else was constantly filled with bustling servants preparing for the party. The silence in the palace was refreshing, and I'd only been there one day.

I was confident in Stella's directions, considering she was, well, Stella. Surely, the princess who's lived in the castle for eighteen years could make comprehensible directions.

And then the hallway split like a fork in the road.

"Okay, so I need to take a . . ." I squinted at the paper, trying to decipher Stella's loopy cursive handwriting, "_left?_ Or is that a right?"

Smoothing out one of the crinkles in the paper, I shifted it to different angles, hoping a certain amount of light would reveal what word I was reading.

"Still nothing." I sighed, shoulders slumping. Crumpling the paper up into a wad, I threw it over my shoulder. "That is the last time I ever take directions from Stella."

Once again, I looked at my options. Both hallways were identical, making neither the better choice. Silently praying that I would pick the right hall, I took a right.

The deeper I went in the castle, the more lost I became. I wanted to strangle the architect for putting in so many twists and turns in the castle. I'd lost count of how many dead ends I'd encountered or crossed corridors that split into two (sometimes _three_!) other corridors. I was seriously considering finding Stella and dragging her away from the nail salon to show me the stupid library herself.

Turning the closest corner, an enormous staircase came into view. It went clear up to the second floor with a landing to break it off in the center, up by a large window. The second half of the staircase went adjacent to the first, going up the left side of the wall and effectively blocking my view.

"So it _was_ a right."

Trudging over to the foot of the stairs, I groaned at the amount of steps. "If I'd known I was going to be walking up Mt. Everest, I would've worn shoes that didn't have heels." Looking up to the very top, I tried to see if anyone was up there. I didn't particularly want to go up two flights of stairs, but it appeared that I had no other choice.

With a sigh, I walked up the first flight, cursing Stella's name with each step. It wasn't a very large first flight, but it was enough to make me sick of stairs by the time I was done.

"Might as well check upstairs anyway," I mumbled, dragging my feet up the next flight. "Because, you know, _why the hell not_!"

The second floor seemed to mimic the first –completely empty.

I didn't pretend to act surprised.

Approaching the closest corridor, I peeked around the corner to see if anyone was hiding in any of the shadows; it was still bare.

Huffing in annoyance, I leaned back against the railing of the staircase. How was it possible that every single servant was outside tending to these party details? What all could Stella possible need to decorate that ballroom?

My ears suddenly perked as a woman's voice floated up from the bottom floor. I couldn't be sure whether or not it was Stella's, but I leapt at the opportunity to talk to _anyone_.

"Yo, Stel!" I shouted, hurrying down the stairs to meet her. "Your directions were crap! Now where the hell is the library–?"

I froze the second I reached the landing, eyes meeting Countess Cassandra and Chimera's. Immediately, I straightened up, attempting to not look as disheveled as I looked. "My bad. I thought you were Stella."

The two said nothing, but walked past me instead, noses high in the air. My eyes followed them suspiciously, wondering what they were doing so far from their suites.

Chimera's dark blue eyes glared into mine, desperately trying to intimidate me. I glared right back at her, topping her intensity.

Then I promptly ran into the man behind her.

Colliding into the man's chest, I nearly fell over, losing my balance. I was sure I was going to hit the floor, but the man grabbed my waist, re-steadying me on my feet before I collapsed.

"I'm sorry!" I apologized, laughing from embarrassment. "I wasn't looking where I was–"

I couldn't help but stare.

His eyes were ice blue, nearly grey, but cold enough to cause a chill to prickle my spine. Red-blonde hair covered his head, falling down his back, over the long, high-collared burgundy coat he was wearing. His face was made up of angles that otherwise would look odd; however, on him, it only increased his allure. He was almost a foot taller than me, making me feel smaller than I already was. His sharp features gave off an air maturity and regality, his presence feeling much more superior to Cassandra and Chimera.

"I'm _so_ sorry," I repeated, trying to hide the red in my cheeks. I took a quick step back, pulling away from him when I felt that half of his grip had accidentally slipped underneath my too short t-shirt.

Keeping my eyes low, I started walking away, wanting to get as far away as possible from whatever the Countess was doing –and that guy I'd just humiliated myself in front of. Barely going three steps, my wrist was caught in a firm grip, pulling me back to the center of the landing.

Ready to punch whoever had grabbed me, I glanced down to see a gloved hand. Looking up, my gaze was met with a pair of grey eyes that, despite their lack of color, seemed to pierce my soul.

"Go down the hall on your left and go up the first flight of stairs you see." the man in the burgundy coat said, his voice as deep and melodious as I pictured.

"What are you–?" I asked, trying to keep my voice level.

"The library." A smirk tugged at his lips that for some reason made my heart skip a beat. "That's what you were looking for, was it not?"

Hesitant, I nodded. "Y-Yeah, it was."

I noticed his eyes hadn't left mine for a second, and his hand was still locked around my wrist. For whatever reason, the more I looked into his eyes, the more entranced I felt.

I gently pulled my wrist out of his grasp, nervously laughing. "Thanks for the . . . you know, the directions."

Before he could open his mouth to speak, I turned and quickly rushed down the stairs.

* * *

_And this is where I begin to screw with everything canon!_

_As you read, there were a few plot points that I tweaked a bit (even plot points from season two, as you could see in Stella's elaborate monologue when she referred to Tecna saying Bloom was going into total darkness instead of Lockette). Plus, I couldn't not add the scene where Stella practically throws Bloom out of bed. It was just too perfect of an opportunity that I barely had to change to keep the characterization I'm wanting._

_Welcome back to the magical world that is Bloom-Needs-to Stop-Writing-Things-That-Do-Not-Pertain-to-This-Story-Whatsoever-And-Needs-to-Focus-On-This-One-More Land! Honestly, I had the majority of this chapter finished about a week ago, but I was too lazy to finish the details, so I started working on other stories that I most definitely did not need to be working on because they'll never see the light of day anyway. BUT I WROTE THEM ANYWAY AND I REGRET NOTHING._

_Also: Do you know what TV show Stella was quoting from that was mentioned earlier in the chapter? If you can, leave it in your review and I will give you a shout-out in the next chapter which will be posted in a few weeks! Oh, and I'm considering changing the title of this; I'm still a bit iffy. If I do, I will definitely warn everyone before I do!_

_Now, I shall begin the process of piecing together Chapter 4 for all of you lovelies! And, I feel pathetic asking you all to review, but please do! Each and every one of them motivate me to write faster, and it makes me feel like I'm doing something right, so please, please, please, review!_

_~Bloom_


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

The library was the biggest room I'd seen yet, almost double –maybe triple– the size of the others. It surprisingly reminded me of something out of the Harry Potter universe, massive high walls and bookshelves reaching close to the ceiling. I'd never felt smaller in my life. Sunlight poured in through the large windows on the outside wall, proving to be the only source of light. Part of me wondered if Stella had ever even been in this library. We'd always had to drag her into the one at Alfea during finals.

There was no sense of direction whatsoever; no magic catalog, no signs, no anything. How anyone found books in this place was beyond me.

Leaning back against the bookcase, I sighed running a hand through my hair. My mind went back to my embarrassing moment on the staircase not ten minutes earlier. I'd never seen that guy before in my life, but something inside me was just . . . _drawn to him_. I didn't know why, and I'm certain I wasn't supposed to like that I was, in fact, drawn to him.

Why was I thinking about him? I was dating Sky; I shouldn't be thinking about some guy I ran into. Although, my relationship with Sky was a whole other issue itself. What I had told Flora yesterday was only half of our problem.

I was still recovering from the Realix thing. I didn't want to admit it, but I was. And Sky wasn't thrilled with how I was 'taking my sweet time' with getting back to my old self. He constantly complained about how it was hard for him because I was shutting him out, and that he thought that in the future it might be good for us to separate for a while if I hadn't snapped out of it by then. Granted, I was shutting him out some, but, nowadays, I was shutting a lot of people out. The girls gave me the space I needed though. With Sky, he was constantly hovering, acting like I couldn't protect myself from anything. Who wouldn't need space from that?

Nothing was set in stone, but just to hear him say something like that was enough to sting.

It wasn't like I'd planned for it to take this long to get back to normal. Recovering from what I'd been through wasn't exactly the easiest trip in the world. If I had a choice in the matter, I would've kicked it the second I broke free from the curse and returned to normal.

But silly things like that only happened in cartoons.

A persistent ticking noise reverberated through the library. Turning my gaze to the far wall, I caught sight of a large grandfather clock reading the time of 10:57. I vaguely remembered Stella saying she would come meet me here around noon; I had plenty of time to find some kind of text on Sparx in this godforsaken library.

Or get hopelessly lost.

Either way.

Thinking of Stella and the Princess Ball that was only hours away, I felt a twinge of jealousy.

Don't get me wrong, I was ecstatic for Stella. The moment I saw her reaction to the news, her eyes shining with joy, I could tell that a Princess Ball was something she'd dreamed about all her life

But, I couldn't help but envy Stella. This was her life –full of royals, and parties, and fancy gowns. Essentially, it was a life that every princess had.

A life that I would most likely never have.

I was a princess, technically. I had royal blood, yes, but that was it. All I had to my name was a title and powers I could barely control. And with the limited possibility of me finding my birth parents, it seemed that that was all I would ever have.

I would never have a Princess Ball.

I would never officially be the Princess of Sparx.

I would never have this kind of life.

Shaking my head, I tried to rid myself of those thoughts. I wasn't here to wallow in self pity; I was here for answers.

And I was going to find some.

* * *

I found nothing.

I'd searched every nook and cranny of the library, and there was not a single book on Sparx anywhere.

"Sparx and Solaria were, like, strong allies!" I whisper-yelled to myself. "How could there not be anything here on its allied planet?"

I came to a sudden halt when a booming thud replied.

Cautious that I may not really be alone, I slowly turned around. On the floor a few yards away, was a massive book, dust particles floating off of its cover from its intense impact. Through the empty slots in the bookshelves around me, the sun shone directly onto the cover, revealing a title that instantly made me wary.

_Sparx: a History_

My eyes scanned the bookshelves around me. Slightly terrified, I peered around the corners behind me, making sure that no one was in the close vicinity. The air was dead; I was still alone.

Where did this come from?

My gaze fell to the fallen book again. Every logical part of my brain told me to forget about it and leave, but the other parts screamed to pick the book up.

Unable to restrain myself, I sat down next to it and grabbed it.

In spite of how massively thick the book was, it oddly didn't contain much; in fact, there was barely anything at all on the destruction of Sparx. The only information it gave me, I already knew from what I'd heard from Daphne or Faragonda.

So, yeah, not a lot.

The author had only listed the events that most people in the Dimension had known since the attack happened. It vaguely detailed the Ancestresses' plans to attack Sparx, the attack itself, and the eternal winter cast on the planet.

I was about to give up on the book entirely, and move on, but something stirred inside me. I wasn't sure what it was, but something wanted me to turn the page.

Flipping to the next chapter, my eyes flitted across the title.

_The Ancestresses' Apprentice_

My Fire sparked in my chest, feeling almost enraged. No one I'd ever talked to about Sparx ever mentioned anything like him. Just from the first page, I could gather that he played an essential part to Sparx's destruction.

So why was I never told about him?

A loud, booming noise made me jump a foot in the air, dragging me out of my thoughts.

I was prepared to beat someone with the book in my hands, until I realize that it was the large grandfather clock on the far wall, alerting the non-existent people that it was noon. Slumping against the bookcase, I tried to slow my heart before it burst from my chest.

Looking down at the large tome, I decided that I'd have to read up on this mysterious apprentice later. If I'd already wasted a couple hours in here, Stella was sure to track me down like a bloodhound sooner or later. Reaching up to shove the book back on the shelf, I paused in thought.

When I go back to meet up with Stella, there's no way that I'd ever have time to come back here. I'd be too caught up in the Princess Ball, I wouldn't have the chance. After tonight, I'd be on my way to Earth, never to see this book again.

I glanced over my shoulder, making certain that no one else was in the library with me. Then, ever so slowly, I pulled the book back down to my chest. I'm sure no one would miss one little book . . .

Quickly making my way back out of the library (and getting lost about twice), I tried to shut the huge door as quietly as I possibly could with one hand. I was golden, until the lock clicked loudly, echoing through the hall. I waited for a few minutes, hoping that it hadn't drawn any attention from the guards.

Sure that I was alone, I breathed a sigh of relief and started up the corridor, opening the book again. Turning to the chapter on the Ancestresses' Apprentice, my eyes devoured the page, wanting to know as much as I possibly could on this guy. He may have worked against my realm, but if he was alive, there was a chance that he knew what happened to my parents.

"Come on, give me a name," I muttered to myself. "What's his name?"

Scouring the words, my eyes came across a single, smudged word. From the damage that had been done to it, it was practically illegible. Someone definitely didn't want people finding this guy's name.

If the Ancestresses' names were still recorded, but his wasn't what did that mean?

Was the Apprentice really that much worse than them?

"Am I interrupting?"

I nearly jumped out of my skin at the voice behind me and sun around. The man from the staircase stood there, smirking at my reaction to his intrusion.

I glanced down at the old pages then back up at him, trying to hide the embarrassment on my face. "N-No, of course not," I stammered, not wanting to be insulting. "I was just distracted, that's all. We ran into each other earlier, didn't we? On the staircase?" I quickly changed the subject, closing the book and keeping the cover pressed into my stomach. I had gotten this far in taking it. I wasn't going to let this guy ruin it.

No matter how attractive he was.

"Briefly, yes." he said, moving towards me. He had the same smirk on his face that he'd had before, warning me he _definitely_ remembered it. "I recall you running into me on the staircase about an hour ago."

My cheeks burned, furiously. "Yeah, that was my bad." I laughed, nervously. "I was born with two left feet." Casually looking around, I tried to see if there was anyone else in the hall, but we were completely alone, making me cautious.

"Cassandra said you're a friend of the Princess," he said, his eyes never leaving mine. I caught a curious glint in them, making me a little uneasy.

"Best friend," I elucidated with a nod. "I'm the official helper for her party."

"And yet here you are, on the other side of the castle."

I paused, suspicious. "I was just looking for something."

He nodded towards the book in my hand, making me tense. "The book, I suppose?"

I simply nodded, trying to keep a pleasant smile on my face. "Stella said I could come up here and look around."

"So you stole it."

My jaw dropped, stunned by his accusation. "I am _not_ stealing the book!" I exclaimed. "I'm just borrowing it for some . . . light reading."

He snatched the book out of my grasp and examined it before I could react. His eyes widened slightly when he saw the title, but quickly re-composed himself. "Do you often read _Sparx: a History_ for 'light reading?'"

I crossed my arms, defensively. "How do you know that's not mine?"

He flipped the book open to the back cover, displaying a brightly glowing symbol of the sun of Solaria. "If you want to be sneaky about stealing something, darling," he said, "don't make it apparent that the thing isn't yours."

I didn't speak for a moment, repeatedly opening and closing my mouth as I tried to find words. "Okay, it's not mine, exactly."

"So, you stole it." he smirked, shutting the book.

"Borrowed without permission."

"You're not a very good thief. You're almost as bad as one of those Trix girls I keep hearing about."

My face fell into an annoyed smile. "I don't think I'm as bad as a convicted criminal."

"And you would know this?"

Images of the Trix and Darkar popped into my head, but I quickly brushed them away. "Yes, I would. In fact, they're quite annoying, not unlike yourself." I said, grabbing my book back.

He feigned a hurt expression. "Annoying, princess? Might you know, most people find me to be charming."

"I'm not like most people." I told him, refusing to acknowledge how I actually did.

His familiar smirk returned. "So, I can see.

"I would assume you're attending the Ball tonight, then?" he continued after a minute or so of silence.

"Well, I am Stella's best friend, so I'm required to," I answered, tapping my thumb along the spine of the book. "I know nothing about princess balls, though."

"You've never been to one before?"

I furrowed my brow, confused by his puzzled glance. "No, I haven't. Why are you so surprised?"

He slightly shrugged. "You're about eighteen, aren't you? I figured you would have had one by now."

I felt a sting in my guy, the small flare of jealousy that I had been keeping down all morning sparking again. "No," I muttered, averting my eyes to the floor. "I'm technically not a princess, so I won't be getting one any time soon."

"Trouble in familial paradise?"

Despite how unrealistically accurate his statement was, I laughed. "You have no idea."

He paused, coming to a stop a few feet away from me. "I wouldn't want to pry," he said, making me tense, "but how does one become a technical princess?"

"Long story," I replied. "It's very boring."

"The Ball doesn't start for a few hours." He leaned in close to my face. "And I am incredibly intrigued."

My heart fluttered in my chest at his proximity. Something was definitely off about this guy, but part of me couldn't deny how I was dangerously attracted to it.

Tucking a strand of hair behind my ear, I felt my cheeks heat up. "I need to get going," I murmured. "I may not be fond of going to the party, but I need to start getting ready before Stella hunts me down."

"You know, it'd be much easier to leave if you weren't constantly flirting with me."

My eyes widened. "_I'm_ flirting with _you_? I am _not _flirting with you!"

"Then why haven't you pushed me away?"

Noticing how close we actually were, I quickly took a step back. Heat rose to my cheeks, frustrated that I'd let my emotions get the best of me.

"I am not flirting with you." I reiterated, averting my gaze, and tucking a chunk of hair behind my ear.

The man had a triumphant smirk on his face, glad to know he'd affected me that much. "If you insist, Princess." he relented.

"I'm not a princess."

"I have no other name to call you by."

"Well, aren't you being Mr. Subtle." I remarked, an idea sparking in my head. "But, I'll make you a deal. I'll tell you my name whenever you tell me yours. And since you've been sneaking around the palace, I don't think you'll be fulfilling your end of that bargain any time soon."

He remained quiet, silently taken aback by my insinuation.

Giving him a triumphant smirk of my own, I waved my fingers at him before stepping around him and heading back to my room.

* * *

"How much longer is this going to take?" I asked, flinching as Stella pulled the strings tighter.

"Don't be such a wimp." she chided. "It's just a couple of strings."

"Pain-inducing strings!"

I couldn't see her face, but I knew she was rolling her eyes.

"You had to wear these on a daily basis when you were a kid?"

"Yep. Every single day." she confirmed. "Corsets aren't really that bad once you get used to them."

"You mean after you pass out?"

Stella jerked on the strings again, the heat of her glare burning into the back of my head.

When I'd returned to my room and quickly hidden the book in one of my suitcases, Stella surprised me with an impromptu visit.

As well as her entire formal wardrobe.

I was immediately dragged into Stella's bizarre world of fashion, forced to try on every dress she deemed 'perfect' for me. Unfortunately, the one we'd compromised on was a size too small for me thanks to Stella's microscopic waist (_Damn you, Stella_!). I suggested another dress, while she had a much more _medieval_ form of getting her way.

"There!" she announced with one final tug. "All done! Now that wasn't so bad, was it?"

"I'm pretty sure my intestines are being forced up my throat." I told her, releasing my death grip on the bedpost.

"Can you not be so crude all the time? You've been spending too much time with Musa."

"It's not like I'm here to impress anyone."

"In spite of being in a relationship, you still have to look desirable." she said, helping me get the enormous dress on. "I have a reputation to keep up, and if you don't make me look good, I swear to Arcadia, I will end you."

It was my turn to roll my eyes, holding up the dress's bodice while Stella finished lacing up the back. "You'll have to find Flora and the others on your own." Stella reminded me. "I'm trusting that you can at least find the front doors to reach the ship landing?"

"I know where the front doors are, Stel!"

"Okay, okay! Calm your 'tude before you set my masterpiece on fire!"

I laughed in disbelief. "I'm your masterpiece?"

"Tonight –yes." Pushing me to the center of the room, she began to circle me like a vulture, searching for any flaws. "I told all of you that it's required that you all must look _almost_ as hot as me."

"But I'm the only one here for you to torture." I pointed out as she rearranged my skirt. "You don't exactly have control over what they show up in."

"_Au contraire_, my redheaded friend," Stella laughed, evilly. "I sent them hand-picked dresses yesterday, along with notes threatening them to wear them."

"That's a bit excessive." I remarked. "You do realize Musa most likely ripped that note to shreds, right?"

She audibly sighed. "I know. She's such a tomboy; it's annoying!"

"Not everyone can be as girly as you." I responded, laughing quietly.

"But it's so much easier when they are!"

Taking a step back, Stella looked me up and down, admiring her work. She tapped her finger on her chin, squinting her eyes. "Something's missing."

My eyes widened. "There's not enough already?"

She shook her head.

Snapping her fingers suddenly, she ran across the room and grabbed something. She hid it behind her back when she came over to me again. "Turn around."

I looked at her suspiciously. "Why?"

She groaned in frustration. "Just bend your head down –slightly!" she immediately added.

Doing what she said, I felt something lightweight be placed in my hair, Stella's fingers quickly securing it before I lifted my head.

Taking me by the shoulders, she placed me in front of the nearest mirror. "Surprise!"

My jaw dropped.

Pinned in my hair was a dainty, glass crown. A dark red gem was planted in the center of its front, small, but large enough to catch an eye. Not a single scratch was on its surface, completely untouched from the damage it'd endured.

The Ember Tiara.

"Oh, my God . . ." I whispered, dumbstruck. "Stella, where do you get this? How did you even _find_ it?"

It had been years since I'd seen it. During our trip to Sparx to search for the Dragon Fire a few years back, I remembered seeing it, even holding it in my hands. Daphne (or at least ethereal Daphne) had told me that it would've been mine if the Fates hadn't had something else in mind. I'd planned to take it with us on the trip back, but I'd dropped it somewhere in the palace while we were running (and flying) away from the ice crabs.

"Don't worry about how I got it. I just figured that you should wear _your_ tiara to your first Princess Ball."

Tears unwillingly brimmed my eyes.

"Don't you dare cry!" she ordered, swatting my arm. "I worked too hard on your make-up for you to screw it up! And don't touch it either, because if you do, you'll screw up your hair and I will kill you. Your hair is the definition of a piece of work to straighten."

"I can't help it. This corset is squeezing the tears out of my eyes."

She promptly smacked my arm again, laughing at my pain. "But you look fabulous, so the pain is worth it!"

Despite my dislike for dresses, I had to admit that the one Stella had picked out was gorgeous. She'd tried to force me into something else, but I had told her that if the dress wasn't blue then I wasn't wearing it. And, since Stella wasn't a particular fan of blue ("It's depressing and it's sad! Why would I want to wear a color like that?"), she only had the one. It was the largest dress I'd ever worn in my life, and with the strapless corset top, I was beginning to feel self-conscious. The bodice was denim colored, and covered in ruffles, with a large bow that fell down the front of the skirt. The wide skirt was a stone blue made fuller with another, lightweight skirt beneath it that matched the top.

"Eh," I shrugged. "I don't think so."

"Uh huh, sure," she said, picking up a mask off the bed. "Turn around before I hit you again."

I didn't know if the dress and the mask were supposed to go together, but if they weren't, Stella had done one amazing job with her color coordination. The mask was in the shape of a butterfly (Whether it was meant to be a pun, I wasn't sure.) and made completely out of black lace that faded out to the same denim color on the dress when it reached the wings.

"Alright, you're good!" Stella proudly announced, looking me up and down to marvel her work. "You need to let me make you up every day."

"Hell no, I would die!" I protested, awkwardly stepping in the heels she'd forced me in. "My feet are already killing me!"

"Fine, be lame! But be lame outside, the others will be here soon!"

Walking over to the door, I lost my balance and fell against the door to catch myself. I shot a glare over to Stella, but she just shook her head at my clumsiness.

"If you don't see me at the party, it's because I snapped my ankle trying to walk down the stairs."

"Quit whining and go!"

Shutting the door behind me as I practically tripped into the hallway, I started to make my way to the front entrance. The longer I walked, though, the more uneasy I felt.

Things were going too well.

I should've been relieved to have some peace, but relief was anything but what I felt. I couldn't shake the feeling that something bad was going to happen tonight. And that, for once, that bad thing wasn't going to happen to me.

* * *

_Ugh! Finally, it's done! I can't tell you how much of a relief it is to have this damn chapter out of the way! I struggled a lot with the beginning, and I am so glad that I managed to get it out of the way today despite all of the stress that's been on my shoulders this past week. As some of you know, this was supposed to go up this past Sunday, but things got a little out of control that Saturday that left me a bit emotionally unstable (there was a big rant I made about it on tumblr, things got really intense, but what's online is as far as I will go into it online because it's very personal) so I took Sunday to focus on me, so I could un-tense per se. _

_But that's in the past! Since I made you all wait so long for this chapter, the Christmas fairy is going to come early and leave you the lovely present of Chapter 5 this weekend! There are a few kinks left in it to work out, but other than that it is complete and ready to post, so merry early Christmas to you guys! It's one of my favorite chapters to date, and there's possibly a mini disaster that leads to shedding a little light on some darkness (hint, hint!)._

_I'd also like to give a shoutout to Saline Press who left a review in the last chapter, with the correct guess of what Stella's quote was from! _The Walking Dead_ is one of my favorite shows, and all I have to say is RIP Beth!_

_And remember, reviews are much appreciated and are the lifeblood of authors, so please do type up some pretty little words in the box below, and I will see you in the next chapter!_

_~Bloom_


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five**

Bright colors of orange, yellow, and pink adorned every drapery, column, and banister in Solaria's grand ballroom. Tables lined the walls, covered in cakes and other sweets, so many I lost count after about thirty. Hundreds, possibly thousands, of royals waltzed around the ballroom, laughing and drinking in celebration, certainly enjoying the masquerade theme.

"How much longer is this?"

I bit back a smirk, recognizing Musa's familiar groan. "It's been fifteen minutes since you asked," I glanced, "and the party started fifteen minutes ago."

Flora giggled, hearing Musa once again groan.

"Can't you just knock me out with a sleeping spell until it's over?" the fairy of music begged.

"Just give it an hour or so. I'm sure they'll fix the ship."

Flora frowned, pouting at what I'd said. "I can't believe Helia's ship broke down."

"It's not that bad." I assured, straightening the skirt of my dress.

"You can't say crap, Bloom!" Musa snapped. "Your boyfriend's actually here, so shut up!"

That was one way of putting it. He was in the building, yes, but standing next to me? No. Sky, unlike me, was a crowd pleaser. Being raised on Eraklyon taught him well on how to be the perfect, dazzling prince he was. While I moped in the corner away from everyone, he was off with Brandon somewhere, talking up the room.

"Shouldn't you be over there with him?" Flora asked, skeptically.

I shrugged. "Probably. But, what's the point when no royal wants to acknowledge an Earth girl?"

She gave me a doubtful look, but said nothing. As much as she wanted to prove me wrong, she couldn't.

Sparx used to be the most powerful realm in the Magic Dimension; however, with the planet encased in a sheet of ice and the only survivor being a seventeen-year-old who just discovered she had enough power to destroy the realms; most weren't jumping at the chance to meet me.

"Besides, probably half the people here have already heard about the Realix–"

"Musa!" Flora scolded, slapping her arm.

"Well, it's not like she's wrong." I pitifully agreed, catching the stink eye from a nearby nobleman.

"They just haven't met you yet." Flora suggested. _This is not a Michael Bublé song, Flora_, I commented in my head. "I'm sure if they talked to you then they'd love you.

"We're going to go look for Tecna before she explodes from too much human interaction." she said, forcing Musa to follow her into the crowd. "Come find us when you're ready, okay?"

I barely got the chance to nod before they disappeared from sight.

Being alone was something I'd grown accustomed to over the years. I was an only child in Gardenia who wasn't very good at befriending others, so besides spending time with my parents, I spent a good chunk of my free time with Kiko. And a rabbit who likes to chew on clothes isn't exactly the best friend to have.

I had a small group of friends on Earth (which regretfully included Mitzi for a short period of time) that consisted of mostly guys. Andy, Mark, and Ryo were great, but things started to get a bit tense between us after their band signed a record deal the summer before our freshmen year. All three decided that music was more important to them, so they dropped out to focus on their career. I was left to suffer alone in Gardenia while they toured all over the country.

"You're from Earth?"

Jumping a little, I saw the man in the burgundy coat appear beside me. "What the hell is wrong with you?" I asked him with a glare. "Do you always greet people by appearing out of nowhere?"

"Only for you, princess." he smirked, clearly enjoying himself.

"Technical princess."

"Which leads me back to my original inquiry: you're from Earth?"

"You know, it's rude to eavesdrop." I replied, crossing my arms.

He didn't deny it, coming so close that our shoulders were almost touching. "My question still stands, technical princess."

Rolling my eyes, I sighed. "I grew up on Earth for the first sixteen years of my life, okay? Are you satisfied?"

"A fairy raised on Earth?" he repeated, doubtfully.

"You don't believe me?"

"Of course. I've seen how clumsy you are. I'm just a little surprised. If you were on Earth, how did you manage to become 'technical' royalty?"

I bit my lip, averting my gaze to the couples on the dance floor. "My sister put me in a portal and sent me away when I was a baby."

He paused for a moment then chuckled. "Were you _that_ annoying?"

In spite of his stab, I laughed. "Well, I was only a few days old, so, probably."

For a moment, I suddenly snapped back into my security. Why was I talking to this guy again? For all I knew, he could be some creep hellbent on trying to destroy the realms. And, with my luck, that was a very real possibility. So why was I divulging all this information to him so easily?

"Why are you still here?" I inquired, re-directing his attention to something other than my past.

"Can't a man enjoy local festivities?"

"Not when said man isn't local and clearly has an ulterior motive."

A smirk crossed his face. "I have an ulterior motive?"

I nodded.

"Do elaborate."

Glancing up at him, our eyes locked. Even with his grey eyes, they swam with emotions beneath his black mask. But there was a mysterious glint shining in them as well that sparked a funny feeling in the pit of my stomach.

"Me."

He was momentarily stunned, but quickly composed himself before I could blink.

"Your ulterior motive is me."

His smirk morphed into an amused grin. "What makes you think that?"

"Besides the fact that you tracked me down in a room full of masked people?"

Suddenly he began toying with a piece of my hair, twirling the red strands around his finger. "Your hair is rather memorable."

I narrowed my gaze. "You're avoiding my question."

"As you avoided mine earlier." he retorted. "So, I'll make you a deal; I'll give you my answer when you give me yours."

I narrowed my gaze at him, recognizing his words. "Or," I started to suggest, "we could save time and change topics."

He gave me a look, but relented. "If that's what you wish."

"Great. Let's."

The man glanced across the ballroom then looked back at me. "Shouldn't you be latched on the arm of your beloved prince?"

My eyes widened; his question catching me off guard. "Excuse me?"

"Your fanboy, Prince Sky of Eraklyon; the blonde by who keeps glaring in our direction."

Following his gaze, I managed to see Sky in his regal blue and red attire, practically shooting ice out of his eyes at him.

My cheeks flushed from embarrassment and I tucked the piece of hair he'd been playing with behind my ear. "He's fine."

"You're his girlfriend, are you not?" He leaned in a bit closer to my face, ignoring the prince glaring at us. "Having relationship issues, are we?"

"We are fine." I clarified, taking a step to the side to put some distance between us. "We're very happy, mind you."

"Then why aren't you over there?" he repeated. "And don't say it's because the others don't 'accept' you. Even if they didn't, you'd still be over there with him."

Frustrated, I sighed. "We're just trying to keep things low key." I half-lied. "His parents want him back with his ex-fiancée, because, according to his mother, I'm not fit to run a kingdom due to my lack of experience." I paused. "And, of course, he's a bit of a jackass."

"That's a bit passive for someone like you."

"Someone like me?" I quirked an eyebrow, slightly offended.

"As fiery as you are, I'd have thought you would be much more hostile towards a remark like that."

Pushing myself off the wall, I pretended to brush dust off my skirt, uncomfortable with the depth he was taking on. "Well, I should go find my friends before Stella makes her big entrance."

He could tell I was uncomfortable with the territory he was trying to cross into; but nodded. "Of course, I wouldn't want to make the technical princess late."

In that moment, for some godforsaken reason, a part of me didn't want to leave. I knew Flora and the others were probably wondering where I was, but I kind of wanted to stay. There was a strange pull, almost like a connection, I felt with him that I'd never experienced with anyone else.

Quickly, I turned away and started making my way towards Sky and the others. My stomach churned uncomfortably, but I was unable to figure just what I was feeling.

What was I so attracted to this guy?

Stopping to glance back at him, I was stunned to see he was already gone –as if he'd never been there.

Maybe I was the only one of us who felt it, after all.

"Bloom!" Flora exclaimed, welcoming me back to the group. "What took you so long?"

"Nothing," I lied. "I just got distracted, that's all." Well, it was technically not a lie.

"Well, I suggest you snap out of it soon, Daisy Daydream." Musa remarked, still snippy from the lack of Riven-ness. "Our _beloved Princess_ is about to make her grand debut."

Nodding, I directed my attention to the staircase; large red curtains covered the entryway, meaning there was still a little time left before she appeared.

"So, who were you talking to back there?"

Glancing out of the corner of my eye, I saw Sky had sidled up next to me. "Just some guy I met earlier."

He nodded, but didn't appear any more pleased behind his gold mask. "You two were looking fairly close."

I set my jaw, digging my nails into my palms to prevent from rolling my eyes. "So were you and the Princess of Vallisto. How ironic."

He didn't hold back from rolling his eyes. "Are we really going to have this fight here?"

"You started it; I'm just finishing it."

Sky let out a prominent sigh and ran a hand through his blonde hair. "I know you're going through a tough time, Bloom. I get it; I saw you in Realix. I'd be pretty messed up, too." I shot him a side glare. "But whatever you're going through isn't affecting just you."

"I just need some time."

"It's been _three months_, Bloom!" Immediately, he lowered his voice; seeing as multiple people around us began to stare. "How much more time could you possibly need?"

White hot anger engulfed my heart and a dangerous fluttering appeared deep in my chest. "I don't know, sky," I said, my voice dark and calm. "Why don't you have a dark force overpower your soul and see how long it takes for you to bounce back?"

I stormed off, not bothering to gauge his reaction. How could he honestly expect me to react any differently? Was I supposed to remain calm in regards to a question that was clearly out of line?

"What was happening over there?" Tecna asked when I approached them.

"Nothing," I replied, not meaning for it to sound as harsh as it did.

"Girl, I have sonar hearing." Musa refuted. "If you call that nothing, I think we need to redefine the word for you."

Musa wasn't particularly subtle in her feelings towards Sky. To be blunt, she hated his very existence. It wasn't his royal status that bothered her, but just him in general –his personality, his voice, his _face_. When she first met him during our freshmen year, she was alright with him. However, after the Day of the Royals, her hatred for him was born.

She was angry at Brandon for a while, but he hadn't done anything else to infuriate her. Sky, on the other hand, and our constant fights about Diaspro and his family, was what fueled her anger towards him. She couldn't understand why Sky insisted on turning a blind eye while his parents walked all over me in front of him, and why he indulged them whenever they asked him to be seen out in public with his ex-fiancée.

The more I thought about it, the more I wondered why_I _didn't hate Sky.

I had plenty reason to –the lying, the public cheating, his hypocrisy. I had been subject to all of them. Of all the people who should lash out at Sky, it shouldn't be Musa.

It should be me.

My hands started to shake uncontrollably, catching the girls' attention. They barely seemed to take notice of it, until it started to work its way through my extremities, my entire body trembling. An agonizing throbbing erupted throughout my skull, like something in my head was trying to claw its way out.

Or some_one_.

"Bloom?"

A sharp pain sparked in my eyes, like a knife flicking across them. They burned for a few moments, but it quickly dissipated. Instead, the pain shifted back to my head, the scratching sensation intensifying.

"You okay?" Flora asked, eyes full of concern.

"I'm fine, Flo." I said through clenched teeth. My eyes shot over to Sky, rage uncontrollably building inside me.

"Do I need to kick his ass?" Musa asked, popping up beside me. "Just say the word, Bloom –I'll kick his ass right now!"

"Musa you are not helping her!" Flora snapped, trying to keep her voice low so she wouldn't draw any attention to us. "She's having one of her episodes, and you talking about kicking her boyfriend's butt is the opposite of calming her down!"

"I was just trying to make her feel better!" she exclaimed, holding her hands up in defense.

"Then try something else!"

The fury building up inside me was close to its boiling point. I could feel myself gradually start to slip over the line that separated me from the darkness, and I was powerless to stop it. Flora and Musa's bickering voices were dull, sounding as if I had water in my ears. My sight went black, any sign of the ballroom around me disappearing in a blink. The voices around me were suddenly gone, and a chill settled in my skin, like ice water was dripping through my veins.

_Calm down_.

The shaking came to a halt, along with the freezing cold.

_You could easily burn down the entire palace if you don't get back in control_.

The voice was familiar, but I had trouble placing exactly where I'd heard it.

_You don't have the luxury of turning into a raging fireball right now, princess_.

All of my senses rushed back to me at once, regaining control. Pulling out of Flora's grip, I spun around to look for him. Looking all over the ballroom, I couldn't see a single trace of him. He had to be somewhere nearby to get in my head.

Didn't he?

Turning back to Flora, I realized how hard I was breathing, as if I'd been holding it for an extended amount of time.

All three of the girls were looking at me with faint terror in their eyes. It was blatant that none of them were sure if I was in control or not (even Tecna, who had everything perfectly calculated every second of the day.).

"Are you in there, sweetie?" Flora softly asked, taking a daring step forward.

It took me a second, but I nodded.

Sighing in relief, she gave me a hug. "Thank Arcadia, I thought the worst!" Her expression suddenly replicated one of a mother scolding her child. "You can't let your anger get out of control like that! You could get seriously hurt!"

"Actually, the probability of Bloom getting hurt during one of her episodes is next to zero." Tecna said. "Everyone else would be either heavily injured or killed before she would even think to harm herself."

"See, this is why no one comes to you for uplifting advice." Musa said, crossing her arms.

"Why?" she asked, confused.

"_Because you suck at it_!"

Tecna shrugged. "I was just refuting her statement."

"Yeah, well, why don't you try to refute a little better? Like, in a way that doesn't include the deaths of everyone in the room?" Musa remarked. "I'm still going to kick Sky's ass though, if anyone had any doubts about that."

"It's okay, Musa, really." I said, trying to still the hysterical trembling of my hands. "We'll talk about it later."

"Speak of the devil!"

Sky appeared behind Flora, regret clouding his eyes. He nervously approached me, purposely avoiding Musa when he caught her glare. "Hey," he said, morphing for his regal kingly composure to the stance of the teenage boy he was.

"Hey," I said, looking down at the skirt of my gown.

"Could you girls give us a moment, please?"

The girls all looked at each other, reluctantly, but left when I nodded that I would be fine.

Neither of us spoke once they were gone; both too unsure of what to say.

"I'm sorry," he finally said, breaking the tense silence. "I have no right to assume that what you went through is an easy thing to push aside."

"No you don't." I immediately agreed.

"But can we just forget about everything that happened before, even if it's just for tonight? I don't want you to only remember us fighting during your first Princess Ball." He held his arm out, offering it for me to take. "Let me make it up to you."

I was still severely pissed at him, and he knew it. However, he was right about one thing. The last thing I wanted to do was bring down Stella's mood at her party, especially since she didn't need to worry about it whatsoever.

Sliding my arm into his, he led me across the room, back to our friends. Musa shot him a look when we arrived, but luckily kept her comments to herself.

"She's going to come out any minute now," Tecna announced, tucking her PDA into a hidden pocket in her skirt.

"Finally," Musa huffed. "We've been waiting for like an hour."

Brandon finally showed up on the other side of Sky; it was the first time I'd seen him all night. Sky had told me earlier that Brandon had to borrow one of his formal suits, due to his family's money issues. He looked like royalty, standing there, but the sweat building on his forehead revealed his true nervousness.

Brandon was a part of the lower class on Eraklyon, his squireship to Sky being the only way he could pay for tuition to go to Red Fountain. Considering how high maintenance Stella was, I was surprised they were still together after the whole revelation at the Day of the Royals our freshmen year.

"You look great, Bran." I said, shooting him a reassuring smile. "Besides, it doesn't matter what you're wearing, she'll still love you."

"Unless you're one of us," Musa remarked motioning to the dress she was wearing. I was surprised that she'd actually worn the one Stella had picked out. "Then you'll be banished from the club forever."

"It's not the suit," Brandon said, shifting something in his hands. Inspecting it closer, I saw it was a small box, wrapped in pink and topped with a yellow bow. The present screamed Stella.

"He's worried about her father," Sky whispered in my ear. "He expressed his feelings towards their relationship a few months ago, and they weren't very pretty feelings."

I nodded; how could I forget. I easily remembered the night Stella spent three hours on the phone, yelling at her father about why he couldn't accept her relationship with Brandon. It was weird to think that the man I'd met only a day ago was the same man who'd reject someone as sweet as Brandon.

My thoughts were interrupted by loud trumpets blaring from the top of the staircase. Directing my gaze towards them, I saw the heavy red curtains suddenly part, King Radius stepping out from behind them to greet his guests.

"Welcome, my friends, and thank you all for coming today!" Radius greeted, walking down the stairs as he spoke. "And now it is with great happiness and joy that I give you the belle of the ball, my princess, and yours –Stella!"

Everyone in the ballroom gasped when Stella appeared. She'd replicated the same look from the store in Magix to the tee, down to the high ponytail (which she hardly ever wore her hair up in). A smile crept onto her face when her eyes landed on Brandon, biting her lip slightly. Usually, Stella was as cool as a cucumber in front of Brandon. Why was she so nervous now? Stealing a glance over at Brandon, I saw his haw had dropped, obviously never having seen the dress before. Sky reached over and shut his mouth, shooting him a warning glance.

Making her way down the stairs, she took her father's hand. Her nervous smile morphed into a happier one as she caught her father's eye.

"My friends, I've got another announcement! This day is not only joyous because of Stella's Princess Ball," he said, "but also because this kingdom will soon have a queen again!"

Stella's face fell, her eyes shooting to mine. "_A_ queen?" she mouthed, silently.

I shrugged, just as confused as she was.

"In one month's time, Countess Cassandra and I will be married!"

The look in Stella's eyes went from confusion to pure shock as Cassandra walked up to them, a smirk on her face. I could barely hear what Cassandra said to her over the sound of the cheering crowd around us, but Stella's face turned an angry red before she stormed past her and her father and towards the other side of the ballroom.

Trying not to trip in my too-tall heels, I dashed after her, weaving through the mass of people.

"Stella, wait!" I yelled, catching her just outside the crowd, near one of the massive windows.

"Can you believe that?" she asked, seething. "Can you believe he just announced that in front of _everyone_?" She was pacing back and forth, fists clenched by her sides.

"Stel, you knew there was always the possibility that his surprise wasn't going to be him and your mom reconciling."

"That's not what I'm pissed about, Bloom!" she nearly shouted. "I came here a few months ago to see my dad, and _she_," she pointed over at Cassandra, "was never brought up once!"

"Maybe they just really hit it off?" I suggested, pathetically.

"She's trying to weasel her way into being the Queen of Solaria! And Chimera is right there with her trying to take my place!" she raged on. "This is such bullshit! How could my dad fall for that bullshit act?"

"Stella, calm down." Flora said, glancing around. "You don't want to make a scene."

"Oh, _I _don't want to make a scene?"

"Yo, Stel, chill!" Musa interjected. "Look on the bright side, it could be a crap ton worse than this!"

"_How_?"

"Chimera could've had ten sisters!"

Stella grew silent, her gaze deadly serious. "This is not a joke, Musa. This is a very serious matter."

"Lighten up, Miss Sunshine!"

I stepped between the two, pushing them apart. "Okay, we're all going to go and chill!" I compromised. "We're going to stand here, and Stella, you're going to go find your dad and talk with him about it. Good? Good."

Stella stood there for a moment, but eventually listened, taking her time walking across the ballroom to her father.

"You seem to be back to normal a little bit now," Flora said, almost like a proud mother. "You're starting to take initiative again."

"I just wanted them to shut up." I said, rubbing my temples. "They were making my splitting headache split even more."

"But you do feel better, right?" she asked, laying a hand on my shoulder.

"As better as I can get."

She nodded, surprisingly understanding. "It's a start."

I gave her a weak smile.

"So, what really happened with Sky over there?"

I debated saying anything, but opened my mouth to speak.

"Would you do me the honor of having your first dance?"

Turning to the left, I saw Sky bowed down in front of me, hand out for me to take. Grateful for an easy out, I graciously took it and let him lead me out onto the floor.

If there was one thing that I could label myself the worst at, it would be dancing. No matter what kind of dancing it was, I sucked at it. Sky had tried to let me lead before, but I absolutely refused each time, reminding him of my two left feet. Sky was an experienced dancer; therefore, it made much more sense for him to lead and for me to never lead a dance for the rest of my life.

And I was alright with that.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Chimera move behind one of the pillars, trying to hide from sight. My eyes never left her as Sky continued to whirl me across the dance floor. I'd lost complete interest in what we were doing; focused only on what trick Chimera was trying to pull.

She was muttering something to herself, but I couldn't read what her lips were saying. Before I could bring it up to Sky, she threw her arms up in a deformed X-shape, and a ball of green energy appeared and shot across the room directly for Stella.

It hit her straight on, knocking her to the floor.

"Stella!"

Pulling away from Sky, I rushed over to her fallen form. Not caring about the expensive dress I was wearing, I knelt down beside her, opposite Radius, starting to grow terrified when I didn't see her moving.

Throwing my gaze around the ballroom, I saw that Chimera had disappeared; nowhere to be found. I wasn't sure what he'd done, but my fist was definitely going to possess nine-tenths of her face, no matter what Flora said.

A bright light suddenly burst from Stella, matching the same green as the ball of energy that had hit her. Sky threw his arm around my waist in an instant, yanking me away from Stella. I tried to crawl back across the floor to reach her again, but he held me protectively against his chest, blocking me from the light. A sound that closely resembled a sharp scream echoed through the room, and the light vanished in a single moment.

The green light only left silence in its wake, cold and deadly. Slowly, I extricated myself some from Sky's arms, directing my attention back to Stella.

Gasps emanated from the guests, filled with horror and fear. Champagne flutes shattered against the floor, and from the noise behind me, I was pretty sure someone had fainted.

Stella stood there, dress torn, eyes full of tears as she looked at herself. Every human feature she had had changed. I couldn't make out what kind of creature she had turned into, but it wasn't pleasant to say the least; green and large, almost like a frog.

Looking over at Radius, I saw fear in his eyes, but it was clouded by concern for his daughter. It was the exact opposite reaction of his guests, which relieved me. The last thing we needed was for Radius to turn on Stella in a room full of guards and royals.

Cassandra came up behind him, laying a hand on his shoulder and muttered something to him, glancing over at Stella. I couldn't hear him over Stella's cries, but the moment she finished speaking, my stomach dropped.

Disgust replaced his concern.

"Guards!" he shouted, pointing over at Stella. "Seize that awful creature!"

* * *

_I finally got to post Chapter 5! Yess! As Jean Valjean once said, "Thank God, thank God, I've lived to see this day!" _

_Alright, I know I said I would have this up a few days ago, but some family issues came up that involved a family member's health that postponed my update. I've been taking it very hard these last few days, and I'm not sure how the next few weeks are going to go in my house, and in my head. I will not disclose any other information about that publicly, so that's all I will say about that. Since this is going on, as well as applying for scholarships for college and practicing for my audtion with AMDA, I will most likely not post another update till January._

_This is by far my most favorite chapter, mostly because of all the allusions that I put in this that will make appearances either later in this fic, and in the sequel! And it makes me squeal just thinking about it! Also, stay on the lookout for a little more of Dark Bloom. That may or may not make another appearance further on down the road that isn't just her nearly going over the edge. *wink*_

_Now, I'm going to go and draft the next few chapters because YES, there will be a major time jump between now and then. I chose not to cover the Mirror of Truth expedition, since nothing would have changed, like, at all. So, when the next chapter starts, it'll be right after the Mirror of Truth happens. _

_Please remember to leave a review, and I will see you all soon!_

_~Bloom_


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six**

"Well, that was fun." Musa said, plopping down on the couch. "Remind me to never do that again."

The rest of us groaned in agreement, taking our respective spots in the common room at Alfea.

It had been two weeks since Stella's Princess Ball, and they were the two most chaotic I'd ever had the displeasure of living.

When King Radius ordered the guards to seize Stella, it took us close to an hour to fight our way out of the castle –battling knights, jumping out of a twenty-story high aviary, nearly being eaten alive by giant spiders, passing out from blood-sucking leeches, and tricking suspicious boyfriends. We didn't want to hurt anyone during our escape, but it was kind of hard to do when most of those things were trying to murder you.

"I'm just glad to be back to myself again!" Stella exclaimed, filing her already perfect nails.

"We all are." I mumbled under my breath, sinking down in the cushions of my seat.

"Seriously!" Musa agreed.

"Well, I learned a very valuable lesson from it, though, and that's that inner beauty is much more important than outer beauty."

"Yeah, we could see that." Musa threw her hands to her face in fake horror. "_Please, give me back my face_!"

"Do those two ever stop fighting?" Tecna asked under the loud shouting between the two fairies.

"You know better than to ask that question, Tec." Flora said. "The entire city of Magix could implode and they'd still be yelling at each other."

"That's probably true." I agreed.

"Well, I would like to unpack in peace, so if one of you could get them to stop, it would be much appreciated." Tecna said, grimacing as Stella's voice became shriller with each shout.

Flora tilted her head in my direction, too exhausted to bother lifting her head. "I normally would be against this considering your situation, but would you care to do the honors?"

"Certainly."

"Don't do it too loud!" Tecna warned. "Griselda will kill us all if she found out!"

"You worry too much."

Turning my eyes to the bickering pair, I focused on my Dragon Fire. Instead of the magic surging through my fingers, it went up to my throat and into my vocal chords. I'd only done this spell once before, and it was on accident, so I was a bit wary about what would happen if I did it in control.

The roar that came from the spell was the most inhuman roar I'd ever heard, and much stronger. Stella was nearly knocked off her feet, hair blowing wildly around her.

I was just able to hear her yell something about her hair as I finished the roar, seeing her dash into her single room.

"So much for not being loud," Tecna commented.

"What the hell!" Musa yelled. "I thought we all agreed that you weren't allowed to do that anymore?" She threw a pillow at my face and I almost toppled out of the chair.

"Maybe you two should learn to shut up more then!" I told her.

"You could've singed my hair!" Stella screamed from inside her room.

Shaking my head, I went back to carelessly hanging off my seat, seeing how far my hair stretched across the floor. I'd never tried seeing if my roaring trick could be done with fire, but then again, I didn't want to end up like Stella during her first year here.

"We really do need to unpack." Flora said, looking at the pile of suitcases by each of the dorms."

Unfortunately, we'd spent our entire summer vacation tracking down a way to cure Stella from Chimera's curse. Our couple weeks of relaxation were stomped on by reality, leaving us having to move back in the very next day (well, night). We spent the whole day on the hovercraft listening to Stella rave about how happy she was now that she was pretty again.

"But it's so far away." I countered, weakly reaching towards my suitcases across the room. I nearly fell out of the chair. It clearly wasn't the smartest idea to sit upside down.

"I feel like I'm dying." Musa added. "Do I still have legs? I can't feel them."

"Why don't you just magically unpack?" Tecna suggested, disgusted by how lazy Musa and I were acting.

"I don't think I have that kind of energy left." I said.

"You just blasted us with your freaky Great Dragon voice." Musa pointed out, not buying my attitude. "There's no way that you don't have energy."

"I'm too tired to fight with you right now, Musa. Can't we just agree that we're all probably not going to unpack till a week from now like we usually do?"

Musa opened her mouth to sass me back, but was cut off by a quiet slam. All of us whirled our heads towards the door, jaws dropping when we saw who had barged in.

"Layla!" Flora exclaimed, immediately greeting her.

She gave us a small wave as she sat her backpack down next to the door. Her smile was small, but it was overflowing with joy to see us again. From the sight of her empty hands, I could tell she had already unpacked her stuff in the dorm she shared with Francine down the hall.

"Where have you been?" Stella asked, peeping her head out from her room. Her hair was back to being pin straight. "You've missed like a ton of stuff!"

"Trust me, Stella, I haven't missed much." Layla said, taking a seat next to Musa. "There's been plenty of crap happening on Tides."

"What happened?" Flora questioned. "We haven't seen you since you took off with that mermaid a month ago."

From the look on Layla's face, it was clear the events of the past month were the exact opposite of what she wanted to talk about. Her expression had lingering traces of fear, and the way she was keeping her head down told me that those traces weren't going away any time soon.

"You can tell us, Layla." I spoke up, my voice serious in spite of my ridiculous sitting position.

Her eyes met mine, and I nodded. I understood the feeling of fear looming over your shoulder, knowing that it had no plans of going anywhere.

"Tides is under attack."

Everyone in the room went still. From what little I'd read, Tides had one of the strongest armies in the Magic Dimension –on land and underwater. And, because of this, no one had dared to try and go to war with them since the Ancestresses. Who would want to pick a fight with them now?

"We've been at war for the past month." Layla added. "And . . . we're losing."

No one needed to say how bad that was for everyone. Not only would this affect the other realms; we all could guess that we were going to be thrown in the middle of it.

"Which planet?" Musa asked, melancholy. "You know, which one are you fighting?"

An air of tension surrounded us the moment her words sank in. None of us had been in almost a month, making communication between us and them nearly impossible. And since there were four other girls in the room that lived on magical planets, there was a good chance that the attacking realm was one of their homes.

Layla quietly laughed, shaking her head. "That's the fun part," she said. "It's not a realm."

Musa frowned her brow. "So you all are fighting each other?"

She shook her head again. "Even better." She met everyone's eyes then said, "It's not a realm. It's a person."

That statement even caught Stella's attention –her blonde head coming out of her room. "It's a person?" she repeated. "Like, the singular word?"

Layla nodded.

"Who is this person?" Flora asked, fearfully.

She shrugged. "We're not completely sure; not that anyone would tell me. But this guy is . . . I don't know how to describe him."

"Do you mean that in a good way or a bad way?" I inquired.

"Bad." she immediately said. "Very bad. He took out over half of our mermaid army the first day he appeared. He used some spell on them and turned them into these weird monsters that do his bidding. We barely have any defenses left underwater. I can't even contact my cousin Tressa!"

"Whoa!" I exclaimed, eyes wide. "Are you saying what I think you're saying?"

"I don't want to think something bad has happened to them, Bloom, but I can't help it." she replied.

"No, that's not what I'm talking about." I corrected. "You're related to mer-people?"

Tecna rolled her eyes, annoyed with my ignorance.

"On today's episode of _Bloom's Discovers_ . . ." Musa sarcastically announced, stifling her insulting laughter.

"Yes, Bloom. My entire extended family on my mother's side is made up of mer-people." Layla clarified, looking at me as if I'd gone insane.

"How is that even possible? Your mother does not have a fish tail!"

"Don't ask."

_Well now I'm just curious_.

"Getting back on track," Tecna interjected. "Who is this man?"

"I didn't get much information while I was there," Layla responded. "But, from what I heard while eavesdropping on my parents' meeting with the Council, I got a few things. Apparently he's an escaped convict from the Omega Dimension. There's a portal on Tides that connects us directly to Omega, and they're saying that's how he got out."

"But the convicts that are sent to Omega are encased in an impenetrable block of ice. There's no way he could've broken free of that."

"There's one way." We all turned to Stella who was leaning against her door frame. "Don't we know a certain coven of witches that were sent to that place? And didn't one of those witches happen to have a certain affinity for . . . oh, I don't know, _ice_?"

"Icy," I muttered, shooting my gaze downward. An ironically cold sensation spread through my chest.

"Would she really do that though?" Flora asked, worriedly. "The criminals who get sent to Omega are the worst of the worst. Would she break out someone that heartless?"

"She's Icy," I reminded her. "She has a heart of ice. She wouldn't care."

Flora seemed to catch my apathetic tone and gave me a concerned glance.

"So we can all agree that we think the witches are working with him?" Tecna summarized, determination in her eyes.

"We'd be stupid not to think that. Every time something bad happens around here, they're usually working with the mastermind behind it all." Stella told her. "From what I've heard about the Omega Portal though, you have to have an insane amount of power to open it. Is this guy really that strong?"

Layla nodded. "Even stronger. I heard the Council say he destroyed an entire realm, and they weren't about to let him do it again."

"What realm?" Flora asked amid our looks of horror.

"I was caught before I could find out. Probably Frost."

"But the massacre on Frost happened hundreds of years ago!" Tecna exclaimed, pulling out her laptop instantly. "There's no way!"

"The Council said he was along the lines of being immortal or something. He's like some bastardized creation of the Ancestresses. At least, that's what they were hinting."

"Well, it's obvious that the Council knows more than they're telling the media." Tecna's fingers flew across her keyboard. "There's no mention of him whatsoever in any of the articles on the Realm Wide Web."

"Did they ever say his name?" I asked, tense from hearing the mention of the Ancestresses.

"One guy did. It was ridiculous how adamant they were on not saying his name. They were furious when the one slipped up and said it." Layla answered. "It's like he was forbidden from ever saying it."

"Tell us!" Stella demanded, jumping into the free spot beside me. Her mind was eager to turn the serious piece of news into a piece of gossip for her disposal.

She paused, seeming to contemplate saying it herself. "The guy said his name's Baltor."

Something struck a chord in me when she said it, but I brushed it off. It felt somewhat familiar, but I couldn't tell where I'd felt it from.

"Last name or first name?"

"How am I supposed to know that, Stella?"

"It was just a question!"

"Never mind whether or not it's his last name or his first name," Flora said. "Either way, we need to go to Tides."

"And do what? Wait for him to pop out of his hiding hole? We've had search parties trying to track him for weeks and no one's been able to find him." Layla said.

A twinge of doubt appeared in my mind. No one had seen this guy? He was tormenting an entire realm, and not a single soul had even laid eyes on him.

"We're the Winx Club, Layla! We're not going to sit here and let Baltor and the witches trash your realm!"

"Yeah!" Stella agreed, pumping her fist in the air. "And we're going to look fabulous while we do it!"

Musa scoffed. "Not if we stay up any later." She nodded towards the clock on the wall that read 11:49 pm. "We're going to be dead when we wake up tomorrow."

"Well we can't be dead and fight bad guys who are trying to take over the world!" Flora shot to her feet.

"In the morning we'll discuss our plan for when we get to Tides." Tecna said. "Timmy and I were working on a project a few months ago that I believe will be useful for this mission."

Everyone nodded in agreement and dispersed, trudging off to their dorms. I was right behind Flora, ready to collapse on my bed, when something caught my eye. Next to the door where my suitcases were was a half-open backpack that was calling my name.

When we'd left Solaria, Tecna used a teleportation spell to bring Stella's and my bags that were still in the palace onto the Red Fountain ship we'd departed on. And once no one was looking, I shoved the book I'd taken from the library into my backpack. I knew the other girls weren't going to snoop through my suitcases, but I was uncertain what Stella would do –mutant monster or not. She'd declared a while back that backpacks were gaudy and needed to be destroyed, so I knew she wouldn't step foot near it.

Making sure Flora wasn't looking; I walked over and picked up the backpack, zipping it shut. Everyone was going to bed; no one would be in Alfea's library. It was the perfect time to read whatever was in that chapter. Since Layla said that the Ancestresses had created Baltor, maybe there was something about him in another chapter, too.

I couldn't shake off the weird feeling I got when Layla said no one had seen Baltor on Tides. It wasn't that it bothered me, but it seemed . . . odd. If no one had seen him then how could anyone be sure that it's this Baltor guy? Was there something Layla wasn't telling us? Was the Council jumping the gun with labeling him?

If you ever wanted to meet a group that mastered in dramatics, go and listen in on a Magix Council meeting. I'd never met them personally, but from what I'd heard from the staff and students here, they tended to take small problems and blow them out of proportion. It was possible that they simply wanted to place the blame on someone because they couldn't figure out who was really behind the attacks yet. With them, you never know.

"Aren't you going to bed?"

Glancing over my shoulder, I saw Flora standing in the doorway to our room. She was already in her pajamas, but it didn't diminish the intensity of her suspicious stare.

"I was just taking some time to think." I said, slinging the bag onto my shoulder. "A lot's happened in the last few months."

She nodded. "It's like we can't catch a break these days. What's on your mind? I haven't seen you look this deep in thought in forever."

Shrugging, I tried to act as casual as possible while leaning against the frame to the common room exit. "I don't know. It's probably just me being a paranoid freak."

"Spill."

I crossed my arms. It was pointless to try and fight Flora when she went into over-protective mom mode. "Maybe this guy doesn't exist."

Flora gave me an incredulous look. "He doesn't exist?"

"I mean, isn't it just a little weird that no one has even heard from or seen this guy? Most bad guys are complete theatrics. They want their face projected in the sky, and everyone to fear him and bow down before him. But he's just hiding out somewhere on Tides? That doesn't seem very likely."

She continued to stare at me.

"You can't say that there's not a possibility." I said, looking over at Flora.

"There might, but I highly doubt it since the Council's getting involved." she replied. "I will give you credit, though. It's a very intriguing idea."

I rolled my eyes. "Well, I like my idea."

"And that's all the validation you need, isn't it?" Her eyes landed on the bag in my hands. "Where are you going?"

"The library."

"At midnight?"

I drew a blank. "Yes."

She gave me a look. "Why?"

"The solidarity and darkness are calming."

"That is not funny!"

"I'm kidding!" I laughed, swinging the bag up for her to see. "I remember nothing from Potions class," I lied, smoothly recalling what the guy on Solaria had told me a few weeks ago. "Might as well act like I remembered something from Palladium's class for when we come back."

"Wow, you're actually studying for once!" she jokingly praised. I could see the slight trace of fear in her eyes vanish.

"I know! It's so much easier when there's not a power-hungry freak trying to kill me!"

Slipping out of the dorm room, I breathed a sigh of relief. I had hoped Flora would be too tired to notice my bag, but of course, like all of my plans, it wasn't meant to be.

I hated lying to the girls, especially Flora of all people, but I wasn't going to get anywhere if I didn't make time to read that chapter. With escaping Solaria and trying to find the Mirror of Truth to fix Stella, I'd barely been able to touch the book I'd taken from the library. I'd been itching to get a hold of it so I could read up on the secretive 'Ancestresses' Apprentice'. His identity was the burning question in my mind. He'd never been mentioned before by anyone or any book. How bad was he to be erased from all the history books of Sparx? Who was he? Why did he align himself with the Ancestresses? Was he attractive?

The library was as dead as I'd imagined. Inside was pitch black, all the lights turned off for the night. Raising a hand, I produced a small flame in my palm, giving me just enough light to navigate my way across the wooden floors.

It was almost comforting to be back in a library that I was familiar with. Of course, it was also nice that everything wasn't covered in dust. It was just the same old library with the same old bookshelves I'd grown to love over the past couple of years.

Taking a seat at one of the many empty tables, I flipped on one of the lamps and opened the heavy book. It was most likely a risk having a light on, but it was even riskier to hold a book open next to an open flame.

"Alright book," I muttered, flipping through the pages to reach the chapter I was looking for. "Give me something I can work with."

Quickly counting the pages, I saw that there weren't many on this apprentice guy. I should've been relieved that I wouldn't be spending hours reading, but fewer pages meant less info. And less info meant less I could go on.

I had debated on whether or not I should approach Ms. F about this mystery guy. If he was in the book, he was obviously a part of the destruction of Sparx. Although, since she neglected to tell me about him, there had to be a reason as to why. If she knew that I was snooping for more information on Sparx, she'd most likely try to take the book away –which was not happening.

As I read on, my thoughts trailed to the man I met on Solaria. I didn't know why I was constantly thinking about him, but he'd been frequently invading my mind ever since our conversation in the hall. In fact, every time I barely glanced at the book, he was the first thing to enter my head. I knew he shouldn't be, but I couldn't help it. I couldn't help but feel like I knew him. This wasn't just a freaky case of déjà vu. I felt connected with him on all levels –physical, mental, and emotional. But why?

My eyes landed on the smudged word in the book, running my nail over the black ink. I thought it was strange that only his name was smudged out. If he was so evil, then why would only his name be erased? Why wasn't the entire chapter burned, erasing him from all of history?

Nothing was making sense anymore.

A small noise reached my ears, catching my attention. Looking down, I'd noticed my nail was directly on the smudge, a piece of black slanted into it.

My nail was _caught _on the _smudge_.

I stared at the mark for a moment, completely perplexed, and then quickly pulled my finger back. A chunk of it was immediately ripped off, another layer of the stuff beneath it. Picking it up, I held it up next to the light, squinting my eyes to get a closer look.

It didn't look like ink. In fact, it looked a lot like . . .

"Char," I muttered, watching as it crumbled between my fingers.

Did _I _do that?

Touching the ink again, it did absolutely nothing. It was just the same page I'd been staring at, with the one name I needed blocked out. It was like I'd never chipped it.

My jaw set, annoyed. I knew I'd chipped it. I may not be fully psychologically stable, but I wasn't crazy. Heat suddenly rose in my finger, making it chip again. Stopping again, I tried to rationalize my way through the situation.

Maybe it's magic-coded?

That'd be terribly convenient.

Deciding to test out my theory, I focused on my Flame, and started scratching the smudge. Instantly, my magic began removing the charred ink, slowly revealing a clean page beneath it. Eager to see what was beneath it, I practically tore the rest of it off.

My heart leapt to my throat, eyes nearly falling out of their sockets, as I read the name hidden beneath the char: _Baltor_.

* * *

"Is everyone ready to go?"

Morning had arrived much quicker than I'd thought it would. I left the library around three in the morning, too stunned to care if anyone caught me. And even when I'd snuck back into the dorm room and got into bed, I still couldn't sleep.

_Baltor_.

I couldn't think of anything else but that name.

_You don't know that the Baltor on Tides is the same as the Baltor in the book_, the voice in my head reminded me. _For all we know, that could be a very popular guy's name or something_.

. . . _No, there's no way that that's a popular name_.

I barely slept through the night, my thoughts too occupied with the idea of possibly meeting this guy when I woke up. Stella said it would've taken an insane amount of power to break through the Omega Portal. And, according to the book, that's exactly the kind of power Baltor had. And the Council's statement matched the book's on the topic of him using that power more than once to destroy a realm.

My stomach was doing somersaults. In a matter of hours, possibly even minutes, there was a good chance I would be coming face-to-face with the man who had helped the Ancestresses completely destroy Sparx. I'd meet the man who had been trained for years to murder every Sparxian in cold blood without a single regret.

Just thinking about it made my heart skip a beat.

However, if I did meet him, I most likely wouldn't know it was him upon first glance. There had been no picture of Baltor in the book at all –no photograph, no description, not even a sketch. If he was hiding in plain sight in the city and I passed by him, I'd never know.

. . . Would he know _me_?

Everyone insisted that my physical appearance was a dead giveaway that I was a daughter of Miriam. There were only subtle differences between us, except for our eyes. I had no idea where I got my blue eyes since Miriam's were green and Oritel's were brown. Would those few differences be enough to thrown him off?

"Bloom!"

Flora's voice snapped me out of my dazed state. "What?"

"I asked if you were okay. You majorly spaced out on us."

I nodded, taking a moment to collect my thoughts. "Yeah, I'm fine. I'm just ready to get there."

I hadn't told anyone about what I'd discovered in the library. Frankly, I didn't want anyone to know. Not yet, at least. I could barely process the information myself.

"That's what I'm talking about!" Musa shouted, whooping loudly. "Gonna kick some major witch ass!"

"Hold it!" We looked to Tecna, noticing her offset frown. "We still need to discuss the major kink in this mission. Today's the first day of classes, remember? We can't just skip out without explaining where we are."

"Well, would you like to tell Ms. F that we can't go to class today because we have to go kick some major witch ass?"

"It's better to beg forgiveness than to ask permission." I interjected, facetiously.

They all gave me a blank look.

"It's from an Earth movie!"

"Actually, that's a good idea."

My eyes widened, shocked that I had unintentionally spouted a good answer. "Whoa, what?"

Tecna nodded. "If we don't tell Ms. F that we're going, then logically, she didn't say that we couldn't go to Tides."

Musa smirked. "I like sneaky Tecna."

"We still have to figure out a cover, though. One of us is going to have to stay behind to create a diversion."

Stella's hand went up. "Leave that to me!"

The music fairy's eyes narrowed, furiously. "Yo, why are you so eager to bail on us?"

"I don't want to bail, Musa. But with my friend Nova here now, I can get more information on what's happening on Solaria." Stella moved her eyes to the floor, stress clear in her features. "I'm just really worried about what's happening with my father. And who knows how long the mission to Tides is going to take, but –"

"Stella, it's cool." Layla said, coming up to her and putting a hand on her shoulder. "Your family is in trouble just like mine is. I get it if you want to stay. If I were in your position, I'd want to stay, too."

Stella gave her a weak smile. "Thanks, Layla."

"So, tell us your plan then, O' Great and Mighty Princess of Shitty Lies." Musa remarked.

"I have the easiest, most foolproof plan in the book!" Stella announced, regaining her optimism. "You're all going to be sick!"

All of us were quiet.

"We're sick?" Flora repeated, doubtful.

"Sick as in 'runny nose and fever' sick?" I asked.

"Yeah!"

Musa snickered. "Okay, you tell us how that works out. Or better yet, we'll just talk about it with Ms. F in the headmistress's office when we get back."

"Either way, it'll have to do." Tecna shook her head, disturbed by how weak the plan was. "Now, the teleportation device Timmy and I made should take us straight to Tides when we use it." She picked up a large, curved, metal device off the desk nearby.

"Should?" I said again.

She ignored me. "I can't guarantee where we're going to land when we get to Tides, but I'm almost positive we'll be close to shore if we land in the water."

"And who told you that one day you'd need to know how to swim?" Musa commented, directing her gaze towards me. I glared back at her, but refused to verbally acknowledge her.

"Let's get going then!" Flora chirped, cheery as usual.

My stomach seemed to drop to my feet as the girls crowded around Tecna. I watched as each of the girls walked into the portal Tecna created, dreading every second that passed. I wanted to help Layla, but after learning about Baltor, I was starting to become partial to the idea of staying back at Alfea with Stella.

In a matter of seconds, I was the only one left standing there with Stella. I was about to propose the idea of me staying when she gasped loudly. "Dear Arcadia! I can't believe I almost forgot! I didn't give you all this month's edition of the _Stella Summit_!" She darted off to her room, frantically. "Bloom, I need you to hand these out whenever you guys get there!"

_Well, maybe facing off with Baltor wasn't such a bad option_.

Without a second thought, I leapt into the portal.

* * *

_Filler chapters are just sooo great. I love them so much. And if any one of you thinks that I'm serious about that . . . you clearly have never written a filler chapter._

_Before I go into telling you all what to expect in Chapter 7, I just want to thank you all for expressing so much concern over the family issue I'm coping with right now. I can say now that the updates are still going to be a little slow over them, unfortunately, but since we got sorta-kinda good news they'll hopefully get posted a little faster._

_So, yep. Ta-daa! I'm here! With this! After over a month! As you can tell, this is a more chill chapter. But I promise that in the next one we will definitely get action! There's going to be fighting, there's going to be a lot of foreshadowing, and there's going to be the one moment that every Sparxshipper is obsessed with!_

_I can't guarantee a certain day that it's going to come out, but since there's more action, it should be out sometime in the next few weeks! Now, if you'll excuse me, I have an English paper I need to outline before 2nd period tomorrow!_

_Oh, and before I forget, emberfire411 and I are starting a Winx Club podcast where we're going to talk about anything and everything Winx Club related! If I remember correctly, the first podcast where we go through the 30-day Winx Club Challenge in one sitting should be out January 25th? I think? If you go to winxpodcast tumblr com and get more information on it there, plus you can hit the little plus sign button in the top right hand corner to follow the blog and get updates on your Tumblr dashboard whenever there's anything new!_

_~Bloom_


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven**

I face-planted on a stone pathway. The intensity of the collision was jarring, leaving me too dumbfounded to move for a few seconds.

"No time for naps, Red!" Musa loud voice boomed. "You can sleep when you're dead!"

A pair of hands yanked me onto my feet, allowing me to get a better look at where I was.

I'd seen plenty of pictures of Tides, with its sunny skies, clear waters, and busy streets. It was one of the most beautiful realms in the dimension.

Seeing it now, I never would've guessed I was on Tides.

Sure, it was structurally the same. But its appearance was more sinister. Tides's pristine water was, for lack of a better word, _dead_. It had been polluted, that much was clear, but this wasn't normal. The water was stagnant from dark magic. I could feel its negative energy with each wave that crashed against the stone bridge we had landed on. The sky was identical to the water in color (a sickish yellow-brown), and was covered in dark clouds, practically blocking out the sun. With how sickly the realm looked, I wasn't surprised that no one was milling about.

"Welcome to Tides," Layla sighed, already walking off the bridge.

"This is horrible," Flora said, holding a hand to her heart as we followed the morphix fairy. Being a fairy of nature, I'm sure witnessing this kind of environmental destruction was painful for Flora. "We have to stop this before it gets any worse."

"I didn't realize just how terrible things were here," Tecna evaluated. "The Realm Wide Web really diminished the seriousness of the situation."

"I'm just glad we didn't end up in the water," Musa commented, wrinkling her nose.

"Amen to that," I agreed. A stinging sensation in my cheek prevented me from saying more. Lightly touching it, blood stained my finger. _I must've cut it when I fell_. Using a simple healing spell, the stinging vanished.

"So, what's the plan?" Musa asked. "Or do we have a plan? I'm getting the vibe that none of us has one."

"Before we go looking for Baltor, I need to talk to my parents." Layla answered. She didn't even glance over her should at us. "I'm going to tell them why we're here and that we're not leaving until we finish what we came here to do."

"Alright then, we're headed for the castle."

"No, _I'm_ going to the castle. You guys are going to stay at the docks till I come back."

"Why can't we tag along?" I asked her.

"Let's just say that my father isn't exactly fond of outsiders."

"Even if they're his daughter's friends?"

She was quiet for a moment. "Especially if they're my friends." Her voice sounded distant, like she was lost in thought.

The docks looked just as beat up as the rest of the realm, the wood yellowed and seaweed haphazardly strewn across it.

"So we're all in agreement?" Layla asked, finally turning to face us. "You all stay here, and I'll go talk to my parents?"

Tecna nodded, giving her a thumbs-up. "We'll be there!"

* * *

"I know she used to have a friend here named Annie," Musa said, sitting on one of the posts of the dock. "That's probably who she was talking about. She was the one who taught Layla how to dance. But since dancing the way Layla does is forbidden in royal parties, King Teredor had Annie and her family banished from Tides."

We'd been waiting for Layla for over an hour, watching the waves lap against the dock's posts. Flora and I had opted to sitting on the edge of the dock instead of perching on one of the uncomfortable posts like Musa and Tecna.

"That's so ridiculous!" I exclaimed, kicking the water. "Was it really necessary to _banish_ them?"

"If there's one thing King Teredor is infamous for, it's his rage." Tecna confirmed. "Anything he doesn't like –goes."

"Shouldn't kings strive to be respected, not feared?"

"Well, most kings don't mean to be feared." she kept on saying. "They think they're doing the right, respectable thing, but don't realize the outcome it brings to their realm."

"Why not?"

"Because it doesn't affect them," Musa solemnly finished for her.

I stared out at the stagnant ocean, mulling over what they said. If that's what royalty was like, it didn't sound like they would be very pleasant. What's the point in trying to rule a kingdom fairly whenever the king himself couldn't be fair? It's setting the monarchy up for failure.

"I know it's a bit confusing," Flora said, comfortingly. "Monarchies usually are."

"Isn't there a monarchy on Linphea?"

She shook her head. "We're run by a council of the people. There's no special treatment for anyone. There can't be fairness and equality unless we hold the same standards for everyone in Linphea –regardless of position. If someone was to have more privileges than someone else, we couldn't enforce the laws properly."

"Now, _that _makes sense!"

Flora shrugged. "It does to us, but others don't really understand it. They don't see how we can function without someone ruling over us. It's kind of barbaric how other realms have been brainwashed into thinking they need someone to be in charge of everyone."

The more I thought about it, the more I realized how she was right. The majority of the realms did have a monarchy or some other kind of higher body ruling them. Linphea was the only one that had a council made up of actual civilians.

"And speaking of functioning," Flora said, "try to keep your cool while we're out fighting, okay? We don't know what could happen if you turned into a fireball right now."

"We'd win."

"I know, but if it's going to risk tipping you in favor of the darkness, you need to avoid it and extremely powerful spells like that as much as possible." Her expression became concerned. "The last thing we need is to have to fight the witches, Baltor, _and _you."

"Flora, I'll be fine." I insisted. "It's not me you need to worry about. All that we need to focus on right now is finding Baltor before he finds his next target."

Musa seemed to perk up when she heard us talking about the dark wizard I'd read about. "You think he's going to destroy more realms?"

I shrugged. I wasn't sure what I thought about him other than that I hated him. Me worrying about him invading other realms could be my paranoia flaring up again. "I don't know; maybe."

"It makes sense," Tecna said. "Layla mentioned that the Council's involved with the situation. It would make sense that they're afraid that he'll proceed to throw the other realms into disaster, too."

"What would he gain?" Musa questioned. "Why would he need to?"

The fairy technology slightly shrugged. "For once, I don't know."

I opened my mouth to finally come clean about everything I knew about Baltor, when we heard footsteps creak behind us.

"Yo, it's Layla!" Musa shouted, leaping to her feet.

The fairy approaching us had a stone cold look on her face. Her fists were clenched by her sides, almost shaking.

"Hey, how did the talk go?" I asked, standing up with the other girls.

"Fine." The harshness in her voice said otherwise. "Let's just go. My dad's sending the search parties to the other side of Tides to look there while we search here. He said we could go anywhere we wanted as long as we didn't get too close to the portal."

"Good!" Musa jumped up onto the post she'd been sitting on. "Then let's go kick some convict ass!"

"Some _dark wizard_ butt." Tecna corrected. "Based on the destruction, I can reasonably assume that he's greatly practiced in this."

_Oh, you have no idea._

"Well then let's go kick some convicted dark wizard ass!"

* * *

"Are you sure we checked over there?"

"We've checked there five times!"

"Excuse me for trying to be thorough!"

"There is such a thing as being overly thorough!"

We'd been flying for hours without a clue in the world. When Layla said there was no trace of this guy, she was right. There wasn't a single hint of Baltor's hideout anywhere. He knew how to keep out of sight.

_Of course he does, the Ancestresses trained him that way_.

I wanted to punch the voice in my head for being right.

Finding Baltor wasn't going to be easy, we figured that much. But finding Baltor, who had intensive training with the most dangerous witch coven to ever exist, was another thing. Who knows what all they taught him to do when it came to enemies trying to sneak up on him? Or even worse, who knows what all they taught him to do when it came to sneaking up on _enemies_?

I couldn't shake the feeling that Baltor knew we were here. He knew it the second we arrived, and had been watching us since. And knowing that he was aware of our presence and had eyes and ears on us made me queasy. I'd mentioned something about it to Flora, but she brushed it off as uneasiness from seeing the witches again after out battle with Darkar.

"Why don't we take a break?" the nature fairy suggested. "We've been flying forever."

"Just one more place!" Layla persisted. "One more and then we'll rest."

"Fine, but where? We've looked everywhere!"

As the two hovered in the air, arguing over where we needed to go, I felt a tugging in my chest. It was barely there, but it was strong enough to catch my attention. Looking in the direction that the invisible force was trying to pull me towards, I sighed.

The Omega Portal.

The Omega Portal was my first guess the second Layla showed it to us (at a distance). Baltor had opened it, so it seemed to make the most sense that he would stay in the most dangerous spot on Tides. No one dared to approach the portal, making it the perfect place for a hideout for him.

Layla's eyes met mine, noticing my silence. "What are you thinking?" she asked.

"We all know where he is, Layla." I spat out, unable to contain myself.

"Where?"

"He's a convicted criminal who specializes in dark magic. Put yourself in his shoes. If you didn't want anyone finding you, where would you go? A random island or the one place no guard will set foot?"

Layla frowned. "My father said no."

Frustrated, I could feel an inkling of darkness appear. "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't realize that your daddy made all your decisions for you."

The other girls' jaws dropped, not suspecting my drastic change in attitude.

I saw Layla's jaw set, making me smirk a little. "Don't push me, Bloom."

"Then do something about it!" I challenged, floating closer towards her. "Prove that you have the balls to stand up to Daddy and finish this!"

Flora's hand promptly smacked me upside the head, knocking me out of my trance. "And this, my friends, it why we need a break." she sighed, shaking her head.

"Was hitting me really necessary?" I asked, rubbing the back of my head.

"Well, you _were_ being a little bit of a bitch," Musa contemplated. "So, yes."

I frowned, but figured she was right. Half the time, I never remembered what I said when the darkness tried to takeover, but this time I didn't have an excuse. I could remember everything that I'd said –and I didn't know whether that was good or bad.

Looking over at Layla, I could tell that she was peeved at what I'd said. I couldn't blame her. Although, at the same time, I didn't feel like I was in the wrong. What I'd spouted out wasn't a lie. When the mermaid her father had sent had called for her, she'd gone. When her father told her not to go towards the portal, she'd insisted that we didn't go towards the portal. Why should I feel guilty for pointing out the obvious?

I couldn't tell if that was the darkness or me.

"Alright," Tecna sighed, awkwardly standing by. "Let's go have

that –"

"Look who's joined the party, ladies!"

The familiar cold voice made me tremble in fear. It was one that sent little kids running, and one that struck ice in all that heard it.

Whipping around towards the Omega portal, we all came to a halt as our eyes landed on a trio of faces all full of twisted evil. Icy, Darcy, and Stormy –otherwise known as the Trix.

Icy, Darcy, and Stormy had been our 'archenemies' since the very beginning of our freshmen year at Alfea. They had been seniors at the Could Tower School for witches then, and were drunk with dark magic and bloodlust. The Trix were obsessed with taking on the task their ancestors (Ironically, the Ancestresses.) had set out to do almost a decade before –take the Dragon Fire. Of course, they were defeated by us and were sent off to a correctional institution called Light Rock, but it didn't take long for them to break out and team up with Lord Darkar. They became his lackeys for all of our second year until the girls and I defeated Darkar. I didn't know how Magix Authorities got them out of Realix where they had been trapped, but they were and were sent to the Omega Dimension as Stella had said earlier.

So, it's easy to say that we weren't big fans of each other.

"What do ya know," Stormy said, putting her hands on her hips. "Our favorite pixie losers!"

"Good to know Lightning Head hasn't fried her memory." Musa muttered.

"Musa!" Flora chided. "We're trying to intimidate them! Not enrage them!" Flora's best fighting quality –peacekeeping.

The music fairy stuck her tongue out, not in favor of being less sarcastic. Musa's best fighting quality –instigating.

"Aren't you three supposed to be locked up in the Omega Dimension?" Tecna inquired, already in an attack stance. Tecna's best fighting quality –focus.

"Yeah," Darcy shrugged, "but our new friend Baltor had the great idea of trashing Layla's realm instead."

Layla's jaw clenched, tense.

"We were about to go meet up with Baltor," Icy said. "But, how could we possibly pass up the chance to have some _alone time_ with our favorite fairies?" Her dark blue eyes shot to me when she finished, brightly lit with smugness.

"If it's a fight you want, then it's a fight you're going to get!" Layla exclaimed, a pink morphix ball appearing in her hand. Layla's best fighting quality –relentlessness.

"Why do we even bother?" Musa challenged, cracking her knuckles in preparation. "I mean, we all know that Bloom's going to kick Icy's ass straight back into Omega."

I shot the music fairy a pleading look. The last thing I wanted to do right now was piss Icy off even more, and just standing here breathing was enough to make her furious.

Hearing Musa's insinuation, I saw rage build in Icy's eyes. Her eyes pierced towards me, her gaze enough to almost freeze me solid.

I guess that break was a bit out of the question, now.

"Ladies!" the ice witch shouted, eyes still glaring into mine. Darcy and Stormy were immediately by her side. "You two take out the other four. Let's see just how much this little pixie brat is going to 'kick my ass.'"

The other girls went straight for Darcy and Stormy, already prepared to fight. Musa saluted before joining them, leaving me alone to fight Icy. I don't know how she or the girls expected me to win this fight by myself. I hadn't fought one-on-one with Icy since the Army of Decay incident, and my powers were still recuperating from my trip to Shadow Haunt.

If anyone was going to get their ass kicked today, it was definitely going to be me.

"Well, look who decided to come out and play!" Icy taunted, shooting a barrage of icicles at me. I barely had time to duck. "Did the little princess finally stop hiding?"

"Who said I was hiding?" I quickly flung a ball of fire, grimacing when she blocked it.

"Rumor has it you barricaded yourself in your dorm at Alfea, cowering in fear of your own shadow. Everyone's talking about it; it's all over the internet." A smirk graced her face. "I was wondering what would happen once your adrenaline rush in Realix wore off."

"Does it look like I'm barricaded in Alfea?" I snapped, feeling my hands heat up again with flames.

"Tell me, how long did it take you to realize you were _this_ close to aiding in the destruction of the Magic Dimension after your little boy toy saved you?"

I could feel the fire in my hands begin to creep up my arms and willed myself to calm down. The last thing that would help us would be me losing control.

"I'm sure that caused some psychological damage for you. Not to mention some _physical_." She lunged forward, catching me off-guard. Unable to teleport off to the side, her hand was latched around my throat, sharp nails digging into my skin so hard I could feel them break the skin. "How's your scar healing?"

A tremor of fear trickled through my chest, making me shove her back then shoot a Dragon Fury. It hit her directly in the shoulder.

It wasn't a shock to anyone that I detested Icy with every fiber of my being. And it wasn't a shock to anyone that Icy would love to tear me apart limb from limb and destroy my very soul. But only I knew that, after our encounter in Shadow Haunt, I was also incredibly terrified of Icy.

Her plans weren't particularly the most foolproof, but there was a reason why she had been the top witch at Cloud Tower. Due to her dark background in magic and her extensive knowledge in said topic, she was the most lethal witch in the dimension. She knew how to fight. And she knew how to kill. But what made her even more deadly was the fact that she was aware of how deadly she was.

She'd made that very apparent in Shadow Haunt.

"You know, Musa's right." I said, ignoring her question. I wasn't going to let her get to me. I didn't know if going Musa's route was the right choice, but if it made me look like I'd become stronger since our last fight, it was worth a shot. "Why bother to fight us? Whenever you face us, you lose."

Grimacing from the pain of the burn I'd given her, she said, "I didn't lose last time."

The iciness in her voice made me flinch. "I came out alive, didn't I?"

Snarling, her hands trembled, angrily. "If Darkar hadn't been so obsessed with getting into Realix, I would've made sure you hadn't!" She was practically growling like an animal. "You don't deserve the privilege of a pleasant death!"

Her words shook me to the core, but I tried to remain focused. "If you had killed me, you wouldn't have gotten anywhere close to the Ultimate Power."

"We could've found another way to get into that hellhole if Darkar had just let me alone for a few more minutes." Her snarl turned into a low, demonic laugh. "I would've enjoyed watching you bleed out on that table."

I could feel myself go into the beginning stages of a panic attack, my heart racing in my chest. Invisible walls pushed down on me, forcing me into myself while my head spun out of control. I thought I was going to pass out, my throat constricting. I was barely able to notice that I hadn't drawn a single breath.

"How long do you think it would've taken for you to finally die?" she asked, seeing how she was getting under my skin. "Ten minutes?"

Fear spread through my arms and legs, making my wings falter for a moment. Sensing my fear, my Dragon Fire freaked. It started boiling in my body, setting my blood on fire.

"Seven?"

She was in my face again, a single finger hovering over my heart. Her forehead was only centimeters away from touching mine, relishing in how I was powerless to block her out in this state.

"Bloom!" Flora's voice was far away, nowhere close to being able to help me.

Icy's grin turned malicious. "_Three_?" Her nail came in contact with my shirt, freezing cold.

My Dragon Fire freaked on a whole other level.

I'd only experienced this kind of freak out a few other times –all during my freshmen year. Back when my Dragon Fire was more out of control (not that it's any more in control _now_), I turned into what resembled a raging fireball. Yes, as in my entire body engulfed in flames and I could potentially wipe out an entire planet if it got too psycho. This time it was different, though. My Fire was in control of itself, like it was pinpointing Icy and only Icy.

The raw energy that radiated from erupted in a bright blast of fire, plummeting directly for Icy. I could just barely hear her outcry over the sound of the roaring Dragon Fire.

After a few seconds, the brightness dissipated, leaving everything the way it was before. All I saw was the dulled sky and water. Icy was nowhere to be found.

"Dear Arcadia, Bloom are you okay?"

Just as the flames covering me vanished, Flora crashed into me, squeezing me tightly. The other girls appeared concerned behind her, but didn't throw themselves on me.

"I thought whenever you froze up, you were a goner!" Flora continued to shout.

"Flora, I'm fine!" I insisted, prying myself out of her grasp. "I'm just a little rattled, that's all."

"Good, that's good." Her hand suddenly whipped out, slapping me on the arm. She glared at me in spite of my yelp. "What did I tell you about losing control?"

"I know! But sometimes I just can't help it! It just happens!"

She glared at me for a few more seconds before returning to address all of us. "Alright, well since Bloom's dealt with Icy, and we left Darcy and Stormy a bit _tied up_, I think we all deserve a bit of celebration." She raised her hand in the air. "Group five!"

Musa slowly turned her head towards Flora, nostrils flaring. "We do not 'group five,' Flora. That's lame."

"How is it lame?"

"You know who participates in group fives?" The nature fairy shrugged. "Exactly. _No one_."

"A 'group five' would also be physically impossible unless we all took turns high-fiving each other." Tecna added in.

"Forget about the group five!" Layla interrupted, rolling her eyes. "Now that the witches are out of the way, there's nothing stopping us from going after him!"

An uneasy feeling settled in my stomach with Layla's words. If Baltor was powerful enough to help destroy Sparx, take control of Tides's mermaid army, and break out of the Omega Dimension, did we really stand a chance? It didn't seem smart to try and fight him, especially now.

Catching a glimpse of Layla, I could see the rage in her eyes. She didn't want to attack him because she had a plan; she wanted to attack him out of pure anger. Attacking out of anger was a pointless fight, but there was no way that I was ever going to be able to remind her of that. I'd learned over the past year that when Layla had her mind set on something, much like Stella, there was no chance of her changing it. No matter how much you tried convincing her that it was hopeless, you couldn't stop her. It would be an admirable trait if it wasn't so prominent when we were about to get ourselves killed.

"Alright then," I said, trying to hide the sigh in my voice. "Let's go get Baltor."

The uneasy feeling suddenly tripled and the temperature around me seemed to drop several degrees. I quickly glanced at the other girls, seeing if they were experiencing the same thing. If they were, their faces didn't show it.

"I don't want to sound crazy," I said, drawing their attention, "but did it just get seriously colder –?"

I didn't have time to finish. Something large and cold struck me in the back, knocking me into unconsciousness.

* * *

I woke up feeling like I'd been hit by a semi-truck, sputtering out water. Pain radiated through my back all the way down to my fingers and toes. There was a jackhammer in my head, making even the slightest movement of my head send me reeling.

My eyes and lungs were burning and stinging, almost as if I'd inhaled what could only be described as a shit ton of water. From what my blurry vision could discern that was exactly what I was surrounded by. The stagnant water of the ocean of Tides was sprawled out before me following a wide stone circular platform, which I was unceremoniously laying on.

_I don't remember seeing this column before_.

But then again, what _was _before?

I was grasping at straws when it came to remembering what happened before I woke up. Flashes of blue and red scampered across my memory, but I could barely recall anything other than that. Well, that and the pain.

Did we beat the witches?

Did we find Baltor?

And the most important question: why was I soaking wet?

Holding the nearest column for support, I slowly pulled myself up onto my feet to get a better look around. I didn't get far. A searing pain shot through my spine, knocking me off balance.

"You're still as graceful as ever."

My eyes widened.

_I knew that voice_.

Turning around, I saw familiar figure standing in the middle of the platform with an annoying smirk on his face.

"You know, where I'm from," I said, my voice scratchy, "stalking can get you arrested."

"Stalking?" the man from Solaria replied, stepping towards me. "If anyone is stalking, my dear, it's you."

The hand I was running through my wet hair suddenly stopped, making a few of the strands fall back in my face. "You think _I'm _stalking _you_?" I repeated. "Why do you insist on making me the culprit?"

"Only because you are." he replied. "I didn't come looking for you, but here your determined self stands. And I can only wonder," he was directly in front of me now, "why?"

"Why do you care? It doesn't affect you whatsoever. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have somewhere I have to be."

I went to walk away to the other edge of the platform, eager to fly away from him. The second I took a step, my legs buckled and I tumbled forward. The man reacted instantly, grabbing my waist to steady me as I fell into his chest.

"Now, why does this feel familiar?"

I glared up at him. "I was fine. You didn't need to do that."

"You're not fine. Icy's attack drained nearly all of your power." he said, gently sitting me back down on the ground. "If you push yourself, you're going to pass out. And if you hit the water _again_, I'm not going in after you _again_."

Despite how much it hurt, my eyes widened. If I had hit the water, I should've been dead. But . . . _he _went in after me?

"_You_ saved me?"

"I'll take that as a 'thank you,'" he rolled his eyes. "Your little club was busy fighting Icy, and when I saw they weren't going in after you, I did."

Looking at the large expanse of water, I could barely see the four forms of the girls, and a large ice structure in the ocean where Icy was standing. The fight was intense, power orbs and blasts being thrown within seconds of each other.

It kind of put me off that not one of them had come to save me from drowning. Although, glancing at the man's face, being saved by him wasn't a bad option either.

"I have to go help them." I claimed, moving to stand up. The last thing I needed to be thinking about was him giving me CPR.

He pinned me back down without trying. "You're not going anywhere." he insisted, firmly. "Do you not remember what I just said?"

"I don't care! They don't know what all Icy's capable of doing when it comes down to it!"

"And I don't care what she's capable of. I'm sure your little club is going to be fine if you sit one out. Besides," he smirked, making me suspicious, "we need to have a chat."

"I am not in the mood to listen to you analyze all my vices."

The look on his face told me he wasn't going to pay attention to any of my protests. "I'm not here to analyze your numerous vices." he said. I didn't fail to catch the way he said 'numerous.' "I'm here because I believe it's time we formally introduced ourselves."

I stared up at him, blankly. "You want us to introduce ourselves when I'm in the middle of a major battle?"

"Actually, you're not in a battle anymore."

"True," I nodded. "Let's remedy that." I moved to stand up and finally succeeded, regaining steadiness in my legs. I was surprised that he didn't catch my arm and pull me back again.

"Are you really going to pass up the opportunity to meet with the Ancestresses' Apprentice?"

I stopped mid-stride.

I could almost feel his lips turn up into that annoying smirk.

The suspicion I'd had earlier returned at full force, reminding me that he knew Icy by name, and knew that I was part of the Winx Club. He had already heard about the witches so knowing Icy made some sense, but knowing that I was in the Winx Club was another story.

I slowly turned around to face him. "What?"

"Allow me to introduce myself," he replied. Walking towards me, he bowed in front of me and took my hand in his, brushing his lips across my knuckles. (I wasn't going to say I didn't blush. But if you asked me, I would deny it with every fiber of my soul.) "I'm Baltor."

My face fell, my suspicions confirmed.

Yanking my hand out of his grip, I stepped back, forming two balls of fire in my hands.

Seeing I wasn't going down without a fight, Baltor straightened himself and glanced at the fireballs. "I wouldn't do that if I were you."

"Why not?" I asked, teeth clenched.

"Because we both know that I'll win." he said, folding his hands behind his back. "And an easy victory against you, Bloom, would not be satisfying."

"Who said I'd make it easy?"

He shrugged, nonchalantly. "No one. But, you're going to make it easy for yourself, because you're not going to fire those."

"And what makes you so sure about that?"

His eyes met mine. "I think you already know."

I wanted to toss them in his face. I wanted to prove him wrong. I wanted him to know the pain I'd felt when I found out about how everything that was mine –my sister, my parents– was gone. The pain he'd helped cause.

But I couldn't.

For the life of me, I couldn't throw them.

I knew I physically could, but there was something inside me that was telling me not to. Some nagging part of my brain was yelling at me not to throw them. And I didn't know why.

"Clearly you're not in the best of spirits to have a rational discussion," Baltor said, noticing my reluctance, "and we don't have much time left before your little club arrives acting like they're strong enough to beat me. So, just this once, I'll give you an easy out. In a week, you'll receive a note describing a spot where we can meet. If you want to have the rational discussion I'm offering, all you have to do is go there. If you don't, then by all means, you can tear it up and forget everything that happened on Solaria." I tensed at the mention of our first encounter. "But, something tells me forgetting that will be a little hard to accomplish."

I frowned, but didn't deny it.

I should've turned him down flat. However, his offer was almost too good to be true. If we were to have a sort of parlay to have this 'rational discussion,' what all was on the table to discuss? Would we just be talking about Solaria, or would other pressing matters be brought up? "If I go, will you tell me what I want to know about Sparx?"

"Everything and more."

My fingers twitched with anticipation. I wanted to jump at the offer to get the information I've always wanted about Sparx, but I could see the girls flying directly towards us. There was no chance of us having this conversation now.

"Do we have an accord?"

"Well," I huffed. "I guess you'll find out in a week."

* * *

_TA-DAAAAA! CHAPTER 7 HAS ARRIVED!_

_Alright, I'm going to make this relatively short because Sleepy Hollow comes on in about 20 minutes and I need to study for my audition this Saturday. _

_So, yes, Chapter 7 in all its huge glory! Yeah, I know. It's really long. Trust me, I am very aware. I'm the one who wrote it, remember? Imagine writing it. Also, yes, Layla does go blind, however, I will not be writing about it in detail. This is a story about Bloom and Baltor. Not every other Winx girl and their problems. It will be discussed in the next chapter, just not this one._

_The next chapter will include the big discussion between Bloom and Baltor, and will also hint at a certain Millennium Ball that may or may not be approaching. I cannot guarantee that it will be up this week or early next week because Saturday I have an audition with an acting college and I will be studying up a storm for it! I will only be focusing on that until it is over! It won't be a very long hiatus, obviously, but nonetheless, it will exist due to the horrible idea of me graduating in a few months._

_Also, the first episode of the podcast I did with emberfire411 is up on PODmatic! If you want to go check it out, go follow WinxPodcast on Tumblr! There will be a link to go there, so you can listen to my shitty voice!_

_And don't forget to please leave a review, because those really fuel my inspiration for writing! So please, please, please, don't forget to do that! All of them are much appreciated!_

_~Bloom_


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter Eight**

_Meet me on Tides. Alone. _I stared down at the note in my hand, slightly annoyed by how Baltor's handwriting was impeccably better than mine.

However, the note was on time; a week later, just like he said. I wasn't entirely sure how it got on my bed in my dorm room, but after the last few days, I wasn't going to question it.

The moment the girls had reached the platform when we were on Tides, all hell broke loose. They figured out who Baltor was the second they laid eyes on him, and Layla instantly went in for the kill.

She didn't last a minute.

After she'd finished issuing her first threat, he'd attacked. A blinding light appeared between him and her, knocking the rest of us back. I could barely hear him yell, "Princess of Tides, if you don't like what you see, then maybe you should see nothing at all!" before everything returned to normal.

Layla was sitting in a ball on the damp floor of the platform, covering her eyes. When we approached her and asked if she was alright, she only lifted her head to reveal her cloudy irises. She was blind.

It took unrealistically strong magic to do that to someone. Sure, anyone with powers could temporarily blind another person with darkness (much like what Darcy had done to me during one of our battles last year), but to cause permanent blindness was unheard of. Considering it was Baltor, though, I was only half as surprised as the other girls.

Since none of our spells could undo his curse, we had to go searching for Layla's aunt Queen Leigia who had a staff that could heal anyone before sunset. Once we'd finished setting her free from an underwater dungeon Baltor had locked her in and fought a Kraken (yes, a _Kraken_), we only had seconds to spare before then. Unfortunately, Leigia had been injured during our escape and we had time for only one person to be healed.

We didn't know what happened, but when Layla healed Leigia instead of herself, something happened. Her regular Winx transformation was replaced with a very skimpy looking green two-piece dress and the large wings on her back grew large enough to engulf a small child. However, despite her sacrifice and new transformation, her sight was still gone.

Once we'd made sure Leigia was alright, we immediately teleported back to Alfea. We knew we were going to get in a crap load of trouble, but getting Layla her sight back was our number one priority. Luckily, we weren't punished the second we got there. Griselda, in one of her surprising good moods, helped us get her to Faragonda's office, but insisted that I stay outside.

Not me and Flora. Not me and Musa. Not me and Tecna. Just me.

I wasn't sure what went on behind those doors, but when the other girls came out, Layla was able to see again. I was glad she was healed, but I was still confused as to why I wasn't allowed inside the office. What wasn't I allowed to be there but everyone else was?

None of us had much time to dwell on Layla's recovery after it happened, being brutally reminded that Stella sucked at distractions and failed to cover us. We were sentenced to detention in the school library until we finished cleaning and dusting every single book and scroll in the restricted section without using magic. It was a huge section, yes, but we somehow managed to complete it in just two days. When you had six people working on one section, it wasn't that difficult to do.

The remaining time after that was spent stuck in classes, trying to readjust to being back in school. It didn't take long to readjust, though, since it never really felt like we'd left. The only difference between being on break and being at school this year was the tons of homework we were inevitably given.

I had planned to go home that weekend for the holidays. The Day of the Rose was immensely popular, and this year all the girls had decided that we needed a break after our ordeal on Tides. And what better way to relax than spend a weekend at home? Flora went back to Linphea, Tecna went to Zenith, Layla went to help with the situation on Tides again, Stella went to see her mom (since Radius was kind of out of the question at the moment), and Musa went home to be with her dad. I was going to go chill at home with Mike and Vanessa, till I walked in my room to see the note.

Reading it over again, I wanted to crumple it up in a ball and burn it. What he did to Layla was unnecessarily cruel. She was defending her realm, and he took the opportunity to twist it into his favor and gain an easy victory.

"_And an easy victory against you, Bloom, would not be satisfying_."

His statement and his actions weren't coinciding. He said easy victories didn't satisfy him, but blinding Layla was the definition of that. If he was lying and actually did enjoy them, why didn't he just let me drown? Why did he save me? Did the rule only apply to me?

_Maybe it only applies to you for certain reasons_.

I brushed away the thought, knowing how dangerous something like that could get. That was something I didn't –no, _shouldn't_– be thinking about. He was our enemy. Protagonists of stories do not go and crush on the antagonist. It's against the natural order of things. Even if it wasn't, destroying said protagonist's home realm was not exactly the easiest thing to forget.

The note in my hand wasn't exactly the easiest thing to forget, either. Despite how much I wanted to burn it, I knew I would regret not going. Tossing it in the trash and moving on was not an option. I would regret not taking the chance to go and talk with him about our past (and inevitably our present).

I sighed, throwing my hair up into a ponytail. "I guess going home is going to have to wait a while."

* * *

Tides looked exactly like it did the last time I was there. Not a single detail had differed, not even the new column that stood in the middle of the water. I wasn't sure why Tecna's teleporting device took me there, but I was glad it took me there than tossing me into the waves.

The old column was still constructed of the same dingy stone and still had traces of seaweed trapped on the upper ring. It hadn't been touched since Baltor and I had been there. I kind of liked knowing that no one else had been there.

Stepping forward, I managed to not trip my way into the center of the column. I suppose since it had significance to me, the device brought me here. I didn't know how a device could read architectural significance, but I wasn't going to question it this late in the game. I needed to focus on figuring out where Baltor was.

Looking off into the distance, I could see the Omega portal clear as day. If my assumption from before was correct, he would still be there. Hopefully. Since he didn't tell me exactly where to meet him, finding him would be one hell of a job if he wasn't at the portal.

I prepared to transform when a powerful magical presence brought me to a halt. Looking around, I saw that I was still alone. No one had appeared. But why was I feeling like someone had?

A strong tugging sensation began pulling me downward, and before I knew it, I was pulled down through the stone floor. I barely had to time to panic as I fell through a short expansion of nothingness until I fell on a rough surface.

The shock of pain that radiated through my limbs was agonizing, but not enough to cause me to cry out or anything. I admit there were a few words that slipped out that a princess definitely should not say, but when you're technically not a princess, it's okay.

I waited for the pain to subside some before attempting to stand up, having to rely only on my balance to keep me up. Observing my surroundings, I had no idea where I was.

It was obvious that I was underground, but it wasn't truly underground. It was more like a stone cavern underneath the surface of Tides. You could easily see nearly the entire stretch of this part of the space through multiple archways that led to different sections. Every once in a while I could see a wall made entirely out of water, allowing anyone walking by to see the occasional monster-fied mermaid guard swim through the murky water.

"I was wondering when you would show up."

Spinning towards the voice, I nearly ran into Baltor. Seeing the smug smirk that seemed to always be on his face, I wanted to punch him in the face. Figuring that violence wouldn't be the best way to start off, I settled for clenching my fist by my side as I stepped back from him. "How did you know I would come?"

He chuckled to himself. "Call it intuition."

I frowned my brow, not comprehending.

"It's something I'm sure we're bound to discuss later; you'll figure it out." he brushed off. "I think we have more pressing matters to discuss, however."

Remembering just why I came, I crossed my arms. "Yes, I think we do. Like why the f–"

"Not here."

Before I could protest, Baltor strode past me, heading deeper into the cavern.

"Not here?"

"If you're going to start shouting expletive-filled remarks towards me, it's best we do it in a part of the cavern where certain witches won't be able to hear it."

My cheeks burned, catching his innuendo.

Following him, we ended up in a silent stride. Neither of us said a word as he led me further into the cavern. The way he was leading me further and further from civilization should've been a red flag for me to get the hell out, but I wasn't going to leave without answers.

"So, is this your official evil hideout?" I asked, side-stepping a broken stone stalagmite. If he wasn't going to talk, I had to do something to break the silence.

"For now," Baltor replied. "This is just temporary."

"You're not staying here?"

"Tides is becoming boring. There's nothing truly left for me to take from it, so why bother staying?"

"Because no one has found you yet," I reminded him. "Wouldn't you want to stay somewhere where no one could find you?"

"Yes, but where is the fun in that?"

We didn't speak for a good five minutes or so until we reached a long, darkened tunnel. I was hesitant to go inside it, but I knew the only way to get the answers I wanted was to suck it up and go through it.

"I'd suggest staying close," Baltor said, glancing at the opening of the tunnel. His voice boomed through the darkness of the tunnel. "Icy's not going to be very welcoming when she finds out you're here."

"I'd be shocked if she weren't."

Stepping into the space, it was clear that the witches were doing what they were doing best –nothing. Icy was perched on a large piece of stone, watching the podium in the center that had a large orange orb on it with multiple scrolls inside. Darcy and Stormy were standing by it, seeming to study it along with the white-haired witch, but none of them said anything at all.

"What the hell is she doing here?"

Icy launched herself out of the chair the second her eyes landed on me, familiar fury resting in them. I didn't want to give away that I was scared being by myself in the same room as Icy, so I tried to put Baltor between us as casually as possible.

"It's none of your business." Baltor said, glancing at me out of the corner of his eye.

Darcy and Stormy had the same look of distaste on their faces, but their lack of physical reaction alerted that they didn't dare go up against Baltor. Icy was a different story.

"The bratty princess _is_ my business." the ice witch challenged.

"Then clearly you've been misled," he immediately snapped back at her. "If you're looking for the bratty princess, I believe you need to have a chat with the princess of Solaria."

I didn't fail to catch his stab at Stella, but my attention was more focused on how he was regarding me. It was almost like he was, dare I say, defending me. Looking over at the two witches, I couldn't help but notice a suspicious glint appear in Darcy's eyes.

Icy glared up at him before throwing her gaze to me. She could've frozen me where I stood, but she surprisingly didn't. I suppose even Icy knew her limits.

I barely noticed Baltor move to nudge me forward until his hand touched my back. Jumping a little at the unexpected touch, I managed to tear my eyes away from the death grip Icy was holding them in. I could feel the ironic heat of her glare till she disappeared from sight.

We surprisingly didn't go much further, only traversing through a few more sections of the cavern till he came to a stop.

"Ladies first," Baltor insisted, sweeping his arm for me to go ahead of him.

I glanced between him and the empty air in front of us. "Okay, I'm not the sharpest of the group, I'll fully admit that," I said. "But I know a trap when I see one."

Baltor gave me a disappointed shake of his head. "Do you really not trust me that much?"

I shook my head. "Not in the slightest."

He smirked. "I suppose we'll have to work on that, then."

I couldn't pinpoint just what he was insinuating, but I couldn't help the fluttering that appeared in my stomach when he said it.

Stepping forward, it was like I'd stepped into another universe.

We weren't in another section of the cavern anymore. Instead, we were in a small room that had barely any light in it, save for a single fireplace on the wall adjacent to me. Only a couple of Victorian styled chairs were in front of it, one nearly completely surrounded by stack upon stack of books.

"If you had to deal with the Trix every day, you'd have your own pocket realm, too." Baltor remarked, making his way towards the chair surrounded with books.

"You have a pocket realm?" I inquired. I only remembered hearing about the rarity in class last year, but I'd never actually met someone who had one. The only reason why they were so rare though, was because only very skilled magic users could conjure them.

"Only for my personal collection spell books and scrolls." He nodded towards the opposite chair, a simple gesture to get me to sit down.

"You said you'd tell me what I want to know," I reminded him.

"That I did," he admitted, taking a seat. Somehow, perched in the chair, he still managed to look hot, and for some reason that really pissed me off. "But why would I divulge that kind of information to you without wanting information in return?"

I fought the urge to roll my eyes.

"I get to ask a question, and then you get to ask a question."

Crossing my arms, I couldn't hold back the smirk creeping onto my face. "What happened to ladies first?"

A smirk lit up his face. "Sit down and you will."

I didn't want to give in to his demands, no matter how simple and meager they seemed, but I couldn't deny that I was exhausted from the teleport and all the walking. "This is getting very conditional," I commented, sitting down in the chair.

"Well then, I sincerely apologize for offering you a place to sit down."

I shot him a look. "That's not what I meant."

Pausing a moment, I opened my mouth to–

"I already know your first question," he said, holding up a finger to interrupt me. "And, I can assure you, I do not know the slightest thing about what happened to your birth parents."

I stared at him, blankly. "You don't know?"

"I never encountered your parents during the battle on Sparx. I've fought them before, yes, but that wasn't my job. My job had nothing to do with fighting your parents." Baltor elaborated.

"Then what _was _your job?"

"I'm sorry, I believe it's _my_ turn." he shot down. "It's clear you inherited your mother's stubbornness."

I nearly shot my foot out to kick him. "What's there left for you to ask me? You seemed to do a fairly thorough job rooting through my past on Solaria."

"Your past isn't what I'm concerned with." he said. "It's your present."

"What about it?"

"Why did you run away?"

I scrunched my brow. "Run away?"

"On the staircase," he explained. "You took off. Why?"

That wasn't a question I was anticipating. I was expecting a stab at my awkward behavior, not an actual inquiry towards _that_.

I had no idea why I ran. There was just something between us that sparked when he grabbed my wrist that had me terrified. It could've been me being paranoid because he was some stranger. It could've been my brain warning me he was someone I needed to avoid. Or it could've been something else . . .

"I don't know," I hopelessly shrugged.

Baltor gave me a look. "This isn't going to work if we say 'I don't know' for every question."

Relaxing back in the chair, I let out what sounded like a mix of a scoff and a laugh. "You shouldn't have started it then.

"So, are you from Sparx?"

"As puzzling as it may seem, yes."

"If you're from Sparx, then why would you join the Ancestresses and help destroy it?" I didn't mean for it to sound as hostile as it did, but there was no way I could take it back now.

"That's a story for another time." The threatening undertone of his voice reminded me I wasn't just dealing with the seemingly harmless guy on Solaria.

"You said you'd answer all of my questions and more."

"I never said I would all in one sitting."

My glare refused to waver, but I kept silent. For some reason, I could tell his technicalities would continue to piss me off well into the future.

"How are you feeling?"

Pausing, I gave him a puzzled glance. "What do you mean?"

"How are you feeling now that you know who I am," he said, meeting my gaze.

"Is there a certain way I'm supposed to be feeling?"

"Considering you just recently found out that I'm not only the Ancestresses' Apprentice, but also one of the main contributors to Sparx's destruction, I'd think you'd be seething."

"Who says I'm not?"

"The fact that you haven't tried to kill me yet."

I reverted back into my silence stance.

I haven't tried to kill him yet. Being alone with him like this should've had me jumping for joy at the chance to put an end to him and whatever plan he had for the dimension.

_Should've_.

Not for a single moment did killing Baltor enter my head since I learned of his true self. I'd considered punching him in the face and throwing a huge fireball at him, but not for a second had I ever thought of killing him. Honestly, thinking about doing something that drastic to him made me feel a bit uneasy.

"You know, if we were going to go by the laws of a television series, I'm technically not allowed to try to kill you, my enemy, until after a certain number of episodes." I pointed out, trying to avoid how serious the topic was getting.

"Yes, except only one part of that sentence applies to us." He sat up straighter in his chair. "We are enemies."

Something about the way he said it made a chill spill down my spine. "Yes, we are."

"However, something tells me you don't care about that."

I shifted a little in my spot, becoming a little uncomfortable with how quickly and easily he could read me. "Something tells me _you_ don't care about that."

He smirked, but neither confirmed nor denied my statement.

"What are we then?"

Baltor stood up and made his way over to my chair. My heart sped in my chest as he gripped the arms of my chair and leaned in dangerously close to my face. I'd thought we had gotten close on Solaria, but this was closer than we'd ever gotten on Solaria.

"What do you want us to be?"

Staring up at him, I could perfectly make out subtle stone-colored flecks in his grey eyes. Looking deeper into them, I saw he was trying to search mine for some kind of answer while I was desperately trying to come up with one.

I knew it was wrong. We were enemies in every sense of the word. It made no sense that I was even considering that the two of us could be an 'us.' He aligned himself with the Ancestresses and he helped them destroy Sparx. That was it. There was no more to it.

But there _was_ more to it. No matter how much I outwardly denied it, there was and always would be more to Baltor and me than anyone else would ever know about. Those three times we met on Solaria were something that no one would be able to understand. Just like no one would be able to understand the inner struggle of choosing whether or not this was smart.

And then I had to think about Sky. I was already in a relationship, and I wasn't one to go and sneak around behind his back to see another guy.

_Even though that's basically what he did to you with Diaspro_?

The voice in my head was right, but that didn't give me the right to go and lower my morals in retaliation. Sky may deserve a swift kick to the ass, but I wasn't going to stoop to his level to get even.

Thinking everything over, it didn't seem like a very smart decision to make a choice like this on the spot. Rushing into something like this could potentially lead to crashing and burning (and not ironically).

"I don't know."

He stared at me for a moment, leaving us in complete silence. "Good."

Releasing his hold on my chair, he walked back over to his and picked up one of the books stacked next to it. He didn't seem to notice how his simple response left me frozen in place.

"Good?" I repeated, dumbstruck.

"Yes, good. If you weren't at least a little unsure of what you wanted, I'd find that a little out of character for you."

"You've only known me for a month."

"And yet I'm more at the ready to save you from drowning than your friends."

Catching his allusion, I went to ask him about why he did that, but stopped myself. The last thing we needed was yet another question to make this situation more intricate.

"So, you're just going to let me say 'I don't know?'" I asked, still stunned.

"Do you not want me to let you say 'I don't know?'" he replied, flipping through the pages of the book in his hands.

"No, it's not that! I just . . . I didn't expect it to be that easy." I admitted. "Usually when I say that everyone freaks out."

"There's no rush in making a decision right now, precious." Baltor assured. "Besides, certain future events may help decide for you."

I furrowed my brow. "What?"

Baltor froze for a moment, before quickly shutting the book. "Not important."

"But, why did you –"

"We don't have time for any more questions," he insisted, picking up a different book. "I'm sure your Earth parents are wondering where you are; and since your precious prince is waiting for you there, too, I'm sure he's about to send out twenty search parties."

My brain practically spazzed out in my head, overwhelmed by all the confusing information he knew. "How do you know Sky's . . ." I just stopped, shaking my head. "I don't want to know."

Rising to my feet, I started to leave the room, but was stopped by a hand wrapping around my wrist. I went to look back at Baltor, however, before I could, he spun me towards the back of the room.

"I'd suggest going out the back if you don't want to get mauled by Icy. There's a portal there will take you wherever you want to go."

Glancing to where he was referring then back to him (whose eyes hadn't left the page for a split second); I sheepishly walked towards the back of the room.

"Bloom."

Immediately turning back towards him, I saw him looking at me from over his shoulder.

"If you end up deciding that you want to kill me," he continued, "I think twenty-six is a fair episode number to act on."

I couldn't stifle my laugh, nodding. "I'll keep that in mind."

Before I disappeared into the portal, I saw a smirk cross his face.

* * *

_UGGGHHHHHH._

_That's all I have to say about the process of this chapter. There are no true words to say how much of a struggle this chapter was. I have no idea why it took me so damn long to compose it, but it did; and it really pisses me off that it did. I'll also probably go back in this later and fix a couple of mistakes that I more than likely missed. But, I promise that the next one will not take this long, because we get to go to one of the most coveted episodes that I will take my spin on –Sky's Millennium Party! Yay! Shit will get real, and all that shit is probably gonna be because of Baltor, but that's okay!_

_I wanted to get this chapter done today, mostly because I didn't want to have to write anything on my birthday (which is tomorrow and I really don't wanna turn 18 because that means I'm an adult). However, since I'm really excited for the next chapter, I might go ahead and start working on Chapter 9._

_Now, I know what most of you are thinking: "If Bloom and Baltor are pretty much a thing now, why haven't they kissed? That's usually what happens, and we wanna see them kiss!" Well, you're out of luck, ladies and gents, because I am doing something with this story that is very different than any other Sparxshipping story you've probably ever read. I have set a goal for myself that these two are only going to kiss twice (yes, you heard me _twice_), because I feel that there is a true lack of actual relationship building in Sparxshipping, and there is more to this couple than just them making out all the time. So, I want to focus more on them relying on each other emotionally than physically. I am also doing this for a specific and major plot point that will reveal itself in Chapter 10._

_Okay, well, I'm going to go and sit around and watch Markiplier play Five Nights at Freddy's on my last day of being seventeen, so I hope you have a very lovely day, please review, and make sure you stay tuned for the next chapter!_

_~Bloom_


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

"Can we please tell people to stop having parties?" Musa complained, throwing her head back. "Nothing good ever happens at parties when we show up."

I hated to admit it, but I did have to agree with Musa's latter statement.

After I'd left Baltor's hideout a week ago, he was right when he'd said that Sky was there waiting for me. He was unrealistically pleasant, hugging all over me and actually kissing me for once, which automatically made me suspicious.

Turns out, I had every right to be suspicious, but luckily he wasn't hiding anything horrible. He'd taken a detour from his trip back home to invite me and the other girls to Eraklyon's Millennium Party. Apparently, his realm was celebrating their one-thousandth year anniversary (Yes, one-thousandth; as in, 1 with _three_ 0s behind it.) and he wanted to announce to the whole world that I was his girlfriend.

Therefore, I obviously tripped on the sidewalk.

The whole world . . .

That's a lot of people.

I was in a state of anxiety-filled panic for the rest of the week. His parents were going to be nothing less than pissed if he did that. They didn't absolutely detest me after I helped save his ex-fiancée's life last year, but they definitely didn't like me. Add that onto how I was anything but great in front of large crowds, and I was a shoe in for being the next pre-princess Mia Thermopolis. Not to mention that everyone here was most likely aware of the incident.

I take it back, that's pretty horrible.

"Will you stop your whining?" Stella said, twirling the liquid around in her champagne glass. "We're at a party; it's rude!"

"_I'm_ rude."

"Quit it!" Flora interrupted, pushing the two apart. "We are in public."

Public wasn't really the correct term. All the party-goers were scattered through the large garden behind the palace, just between the pair of staircases and the gargantuan maze constructed out of ridiculously tall hedges.

"Like those two would stop their fighting because of that." Tecna said, looking rather uncomfortable wearing her dress.

Only a few hours ago, we'd all been subject to one of Stella's Mass Makeovers; therefore, none of us were comfortable. The moment Stella had heard about the party a few days ago, she'd immediately freaked and forced us all to go dress shopping, insisting that I was definitely getting a dress that time. I wasn't too happy with standing there for hours, but, like I said, none of us were –except for Stella, obviously.

The blue-haired girl huffed, drinking from her glass. How Stella had managed to get her to let her hair down from her pigtails, I'll never know. "I heard a certain bleach blonde clinger was invited."

"Musa, play nice!" Layla chided.

"That _is_ me being nice."

"Be nic_er_."

"What else are we supposed to call her, Layla?" Stella asked, fluffing out her skirt. "She's been throwing herself all over Sky for years now, even though he called off their engagement ages ago!"

Musa shrugged. "I heard they're still canoodling." My heart dropped a foot.

"Musa!"

"It's true," Tecna added. "They're the couple everyone's talking about on the Realm Wide Web. There are dozens, possibly hundreds, of pictures of them together." And another foot.

"I thought we were all friends now after our encounter with the Wrong Righters?" Flora asked. "She did say that she needed to move on."

Stella shook her head, disappointed. "She's so desperate, it hurts."

"Why don't we move on to a different subject?" Flora suggested, subtly nodding her head towards my grimacing face.

Catching her drift, Stella perked up. "Yes, let's talk about when Sky's going to introduce you to everyone as his girlfriend!"

Musa groaned in disgust. "If you two are going to kiss, please tell me now so I can be prepared to turn away."

Stella rolled her eyes. "Stop being such an anti-romantic, Musa!" Huffing, she redirected her attention to me. "It's going to be so great! Sky's going to bring you up to one of the royal palace balconies, over-looking the grand courtyard! Down below, the masses will be jockeying to see better! The press will be fighting for that front-page shot! And everyone's eyes will be on _you_!"

"Stella!" I yelled, feeling my face heat up. "I was already nervous! Why did you say that?"

"I'm sorry!" she exclaimed, apologetically. "I got caught up in the moment."

"You might wanna tone down that moment." Musa commented.

Glancing over my shoulder, Stella suddenly smirked. "Now, why would I do that when Bloom has a major BF alert?"

Spinning around, a smile tore across my face as I saw Sky approaching, holding his arms out. I forgot about the high heels for a split second, and instantly dashed into his arms. I buried my face in his chest, relaxing when I felt his arms wrap around me.

Ever since we'd reconciled a week ago, our relationship had surprisingly grown stronger. We'd been spending as much time as we could together in between school and him planning the party. I was genuinely shocked that he'd made himself more present lately. I'd figured that with the party he'd be more distant.

I guess this announcement was really important to him.

"I thought you were going to come out later?" I said, hugging him tightly. Out of the corner of my eye, I caught sight of the girls smirking at each other before walking off to give us some time alone. Musa didn't seem too thrilled with it, but she reluctantly followed.

"We decided that coming out earlier to mingle with the guests would be better for our image."

I took a step back, raising a doubtful brow. "Is that all?"

A small grin appeared on his face. "There's also the possibility that I wanted to see you."

"That's what I thought," I laughed. "And what's up with the collar?" I tugged on the over-sized collar on his blue cape, teasingly. "It's taller than your head."

"Are you jealous?"

"I'm incredibly jealous! But, seriously, why is it so stupidly huge?"

He shrugged. "I don't know. It's some kind of bogus tradition. It works very well as a shield, though."

I furrowed my brow. "A shield for what?"

Not saying another word, he gently grabbed me by the waist and pulled me in for a kiss. A familiar warmth spread through my chest, and I wrapped my arms around his neck, pressing myself further against him. I was taken by surprise; he hadn't kissed me like that in months. It had always been quick pecks or a kiss on the cheek.

"I thought I told you to warn me if you two were gonna kiss?"

Musa's loud screech tore us out of our little bubble. She was covering her eyes with her hands, Stella next to her shaking her head.

"Ignore her!" the blonde said, shoving Musa. "We're just going to wait on the boys! Don't mind us! You two go make out all you want!"

"Why do you keep shouting?"

Stella elbowed her again, chasing her off.

I laughed at the screaming duo before looking back up at Sky. "Care to remind me where we were?"

"I have to go greet guests," he said, regrettably. I frowned, pouting up at him. "You can come with me, if you want."

My eyes shot nervously over the huge crowd of people, and my stomach somersaulted. That was a lot of people. And the chances that over half of them knew about the incident were immensely great.

I shook my head. "No, I'm fine. I'll just go look for the girls."

He didn't hesitate with his nod.

"I'll see you for the announcement later." With a brief kiss, he let go of my hand and made his way towards his parents.

The warmth in my chest slowly died with each step he took.

I didn't move from my spot when he left. From where I was, I couldn't see the girls, and I wasn't about to worm my way through a crowd that size. I was bound to trip over someone's skirt or cape, and I had no intentions of dealing with that mess. That wouldn't be a very good way to introduce myself before the big announcement.

So, I just decided to people watch.

Scanning the crowd, I noticed that almost everyone in the realms had been invited, including the Magix Council. I was surprised that they actually showed up. Although, I guess a Millennium party was a rather big event and would draw their interest.

_Or they're expecting someone of mutual interest to show up._

The thought of _him_ showing up tonight made my heart twist. That was the last thing that needed to happen here.

Peering around the group of people, I saw Sky's blonde head on the other side of the garden. I raised my hand to give him a small wave, but noticed there was someone else with him.

My eyes narrowed slightly as my eyes landed on none other than the Princess of Isis. Diaspro spared no expense in her party attire, wearing large ruby earrings, a gaudy ruby necklace, and a slinky dress to match. And Sky's eyes didn't fail to leave her overly exposed chest.

I couldn't help but clench my fist in order to not lash out. It didn't stop my palms from heating up with restrained fire.

Diaspro was playing the usual part of the over-exuberant flirt (I would use another word, but I'm being nice, and the word I want to use is not a very nice word.), flaunting her plunging neckline and throwing herself all over Sky. His attempts to push her off were next to nothing.

I couldn't tear my eyes away from them as she offered him a drink. My doubts about how strong our relationship had grown returned as he smiled while accepting it.

A hand suddenly slid onto my back, but I barely noticed it.

"Relax, darling," a gratingly familiar voice muttered into my ear (_Damn._). "You're burning a hole in your gloves."

I immediately looked down at my gloves to see large charred circles in the palms of them. That didn't take long to ruin a dumbly expensive pair of gloves.

"I am relaxed," I claimed, shrugging off the gloves and tossing them to the ground.

"Are we really going to start the lying game this early?"

Sighing, I leaned back. I didn't intentionally mean to lean more into his hand, but I didn't correct myself either.

"How are you even here?" I asked, eyes shooting from the Magix Council to him. "Everyone knows who you are now, and I'm pretty sure convicted felons weren't on the guest list."

Baltor smirked. "I can't take time out of my night to talk to my favorite technical princess?"

"With the Magix Council here?"

He shrugged, nonchalant.

My heart lifted in my chest a bit. "You'd risk getting caught by the Magix Council just to talk to me?" I questioned, surprised.

"I'm not risking getting caught." Baltor said. "They may be able to see through powerful enchantments, but I have a few tricks they haven't figured out just yet."

Oh, well, that was romantic for, like, two seconds.

"Shouldn't you be mingling with your future in-laws?" he asked, nodding forward.

My gaze landed on the King and Queen of Eraklyon, who were standing across the courtyard, talking with some of the delegates from the Magix Council. They were as regally dressed as ever, seeming to be wearing every royal jewel they could find. I knew they were doing that because they were the King and Queen, but part of me couldn't help but feel like they were doing it to rub it in my face.

"His parents aren't particularly fond of me." I muttered, folding my arms, awkwardly.

"You're a princess who is close to inheriting one of the richest kingdoms to ever grace the dimension." he said with a raised brow. "What aristocratic family _wouldn't_ want you?"

"Considering I'm the reason their son left his arranged fiancée a couple years ago, and I'm only _technically_ a princess, therefore, not fully eligible to inherit that kingdom?" I reminded him. "And then there are other _darker_ reasons . . ."

Baltor caught how I drifted off, but thankfully he didn't say anything. With how he took note of everything, though, I knew I would regret saying it in the future.

"So, when are you moving out of Tides?" I asked, eager to switch topics.

"Tonight."

My brow shot so high I thought it would fly off my face. "_Tonight_?"

"Tides's army is becoming bolder. They're getting closer to the Portal every day, so we need to move tonight before they reach us."

"And instead of leaving, you decided to come here?" I asked, doubtfully. "If the guards are that close to finding you, shouldn't you be, oh, I don't know, _leaving_?"

"I already told you why I'm here."

"And I'm more important than that?"

He gave me a look, and surprisingly didn't deny it. "Is talking to _me_ more important than prying the Princess of Isis off your boyfriend?"

I glared at him. "Don't even."

A dangerous smirk tugged at the corners of his mouth. "You're not threatened by her?"

Imitating his nonchalant attitude, I shrugged. "Not really."

"Liar."

"How would you know?"

"Your eyes."

I raised an eyebrow. "My eyes tell you I'm a liar?"

"They're the most beautiful pair in the Magic Dimension," he said. "But there's one fault about eyes as blue as yours," he leaned in close to my ear. "They reveal the most emotion."

I shivered, feeling heat creep into my cheeks.

There was something. I wasn't going to deny that to myself. I felt more comfortable around Baltor than I ever did around Sky. It was kind of worrisome that I was this relaxed around someone who had taken part in the destruction of my realm. With Sky, I felt like I was constantly trying to become the royal that I never was trained to be. With Baltor, I never felt like that. I never felt like I needed to prove that I was his equal. We just were.

But how equal were we?

"The boys are here," I lamely said when I opened my eyes to see Brandon, Riven, and the others walk into the party.

Baltor gave me a look. "I'm sure it's not going to kill them if you don't greet them." His hold on me became oddly possessive.

"Yes, but I _want_ to go greet them."

Looking in his eyes, I knew he knew I was lying. But, for some reason, for the second time, he let it go.

"I still want to talk more later!" I assured him, already making my way towards our huge group.

He nodded. "I expect nothing less from you."

And then he was gone. I should've been used to Baltor popping in and out on me whenever he pleased, but it was still a little startling.

Refocusing my attention back on my friends, I couldn't help but catch that every one of the specialists were there with Flora except one. Watching them more, my brow quirked, trying to figure out just who was missing.

However, that all came crashing down when a certain spectacled specialist crossed my path.

"Hey, Timmy," I said, feeling a twinge of guilt in my stomach.

His eyes widened fearfully, and they quickly shot to the ground, towards his feet. "Oh, uh, hey, Bloom." Timmy's pitchy voice fumbled.

"Did you get the ship fixed?"

"I still need to adjust a few things to the engine. We just borrowed another from W's team." He was growing flustered by the second.

I nodded.

We fell into the uncomfortable silence the two of us were familiar with. Glancing down, I saw a bandage wrapped around his ankle. Correction: _still_ wrapped around his ankle.

"Um, I'm going to go say hi to Sky with the others," he said, droplets of sweat building on his forehead.

I nodded again. "Yeah, I'm sure he's wondering where you guys are."

Without another thought, Timmy quickly walked off to where the other guys were. I couldn't help but notice the slight limp he had.

Watching him run off made me feel like I'd been sucker punched.

"He's fine," Flora assured, coming up and placing a hand on my shoulder.

"No, he's not." I said.

She sighed, but we both knew I was right. "Why don't we go meet up with the others?" she suggested. "If Sky's going to be showing you off, we'll want to get near the front."

Her words snapped me out of my negative trance, but not all the way.

It wasn't particularly hard to find the rest of the girls. We could easily spot Tecna's short shock of magenta-colored hair in the large crowd gathering in front of the right side of the large staircase that led to the back entrance of the palace. Noticing how many people there actually were, my insides flip-flopped.

"There you are!" Stella exclaimed, pulling me up beside her. She was practically glued to Brandon's arm. "I thought you were following me? Where have you been?"

"Around." I said, glancing up at where Sky and his parents were ascending the staircase.

She looked over at Musa and Tecna, hopeless. "One of these days, I'm going to kill her."

"Or," Musa smirked, "we'll all gang up and kill _you_."

Stella glared at her, but before she could open her mouth, blaring trumpets sounded off.

King Erendor was the first to speak. It wasn't anything big, and his speech wasn't as extravagantly spoken like King Radius's had been; however, it was a welcoming speech. It was a fairly boring speech that caught none of my attention as he droned on and on about Eraklyon's past millennia. I was surprised that Stella was awake by the time it was over.

My heart skipped a beat in my chest when I suddenly saw Sky appear in front of his parents. The feeling of nervousness increased tenfold, almost to the point where I nearly shouted for him to stop. But that didn't make any sense. Standing there, waiting for the love of my life to announce to everyone that he was in love with me and no one else, I should be ecstatic.

Shouldn't I be?

"I'd like to thank everyone for coming and sharing this great day with us. And now I'd like to tell you about a girl I've met. She's the most beautiful and the most amazing girl in the entire Magical Dimension. I want our whole kingdom to know about the girl who I intend to spend the rest of my life with. My friends, without further ado, let me introduce you to the love my life . . ."

All of the girls started nudging me, giving me looks. Rolling my eyes, I couldn't help but feel my cheeks redden, but I wasn't sure whether they were from a blush or if it was my nervousness reaching the surface.

"Diaspro!"

The crowd around me erupted into applause.

Diaspro appeared and leapt into Sky's arms.

The girls and specialists were all talking, confused and angry. Then they all looked at me.

I was numb. My heart fell into my stomach. My stomach fell into my shoes. I felt like I was going to fall down. Two and a half years completely shattered by one simple name. It was the easiest, most efficient stab in the back.

For a split second, I thought it was a joke. Sky was adamant about me coming tonight; maybe it was for this. It was some kind of sick prank that everyone was in on. If I just waited long enough, someone was going to pop up and yell, "Surprise!", everyone would laugh, I'd probably punch Sky, and everything would go back to normal. It was a joke.

Diaspro's cider brown eyes met mine. Malice and pride swam in them, and a twisted smirk pulled at her red lips. It was a look that I'd seen plenty of times: she'd won. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she pulled him in for a victory kiss.

It wasn't a joke.

Yanking my gaze away from the pair making out on the staircase, I looked at the expectant eyes surrounding me. "I'm just gonna go," I barely managed to whisper. I hadn't meant for my voice to crack.

"Bloom, wait!"

I immediately started walking off, dodging the many party-goers. They barely noticed me as I pushed past them, too engaged in what was happening on the staircase. Lucky for me, they were too busy to see tears make their way down my face.

I didn't know where to go. Anywhere I went, the girls would be sure to find me and try to console me and that was the last thing I wanted. I didn't want to think about Sky, or Diaspro, or anything about tonight. I just wanted to sit in a corner and cry.

A familiar grip rested around my arm, trying to pull me back. I jerked out of his grasp, furiously. "Don't," my voice was a dangerous growl.

"Bloom, will you please just hear me out?" Sky pleaded, trying to reach out for me again.

The second his hand came in contact with my skin, it burned him. I spun around, glaring intensely at him while he recoiled. "Don't touch me."

"I know you're angry, but will you –"

"No!" I shouted, tears falling fast. "I don't want to hear what you have to say, because I am so done! I am done with you! I am done with your bullshit!"

"Bloom—"

I wanted to kill him. The darkness in me was chomping at the bit to tear him to shreds so he could match his new girlfriend's dress. The last thing this party needed though was more drama, and letting my anger get out of control was the worst thing that could happen. Refocusing my emotions, I tried to focus on the hurt than the anger.

Taking a breath to collect myself, I clenched my fist so hard my nails practically broke the skin of my palm. "I never want to see you again. Don't come near me; don't touch me; don't talk to me; just _don't_." I said. My voice was eerily calm. "Just go."

He opened his mouth to protest.

"Just. _Go._"

The defeat in Sky's eyes shone, but not once did I see an ounce of regret in them as he walked back towards Diaspro. He didn't attempt to say he was sorry, and I didn't want him to. I didn't want to hear whatever excuse he had for what happened.

I just wanted to leave.

So I did.

* * *

My clothes morphed back into my pajamas the second I exited the portal. They weren't anything fancy like Stella's, just a ratty old t-shirt and shorts; although, now I was wishing I'd worn something a little nicer.

Then again, part of me didn't care. Inside, my emotions were dead; crushed into a pile of dust. Was I honestly going to worry about something as trivial as whether or not I looked nice?

The caverns on Tides were bare. Not a single spell book or scroll in sight. Crossing into the next area, I saw that even the pocket realm was gone. It was just an empty space. It was as if he'd never been there.

Slumping down against one of the jagged stone archways, I slid to the floor, pulling my knees up to my chest. The dull echo of water could barely fill the silence around me.

The Trix were gone.

Baltor was gone.

And I was alone.

I didn't know I was crying till my tears began falling onto my shirt. It wasn't a pretty cry; it was the cry of a little girl who'd been rejected by her crush on the playground. It was a cry of hurt.

Closing my eyes, I unwillingly recalled the look on Diaspro's face during the party. The look of satisfaction that she'd finally gotten what she felt she deserved. I hated to think it, but maybe I'd gotten what I deserved, too.

I didn't remember falling asleep. I didn't remember when I'd stopped crying (maybe I still was). Although, I stirred slightly as a pair of strong arms picked me up off the ground, telling me that at some point I had lost consciousness.

I felt a tiny sliver of fear when I felt whoever had picked me up begin to carry me off, but it quickly went away as I was overwhelmed by the familiar scent of leather. Without thinking twice, I relaxed in his arms, burying my face in his neck.

Right before I slipped back into unconsciousness, I saw the bright flash of a portal; then nothing.

* * *

_I don't think I've ever emotionally, mentally, and physically suffered so much with writing a scene than I have with that Royalshipping kiss scene. To be honest, I stopped writing this for like two days so I could mentally prepare myself to do it. It was painful. And I hated every second of it. Please, no one ask me to do it again, because I will laugh in your face and walk away._

_I'd also like to apologize for this taking so long. I really didn't mean for it to, but I've been really busy these last few weeks and it's been very stressful for me. However, I've poured blood, sweat, and tears into the last three hours (and yes, I've been at school and now I'm at work doing this) into finishing this chapter for you all!_

_Anyway, the next chapter is going to be the one that you all have been waiting for! It is finally time for the first of the ultimate two! (If you read my author's note in the last chapter, you'll know exactly what I'm referring to.) I'm extremely excited for Chapter 10! You all have no idea how much restraint I've had to put on myself to not put more than two in this fic. It's murdering my soul; but it's necessary for plot reasons, so, whatever._

_As always, I hope you liked this chapter! Please leave a review telling me what you thought about it, and I will see you in the next chapter!_

_~Bloom_


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

"So, what you're saying is that we're connected?"

A few weeks had passed since the Millennium Party, and I'd barely left Cloud Tower since then. The school for witches had become Baltor's new hideout (thanks to Icy suggesting it), and, even though I told him it was wrong of him to imprison Griffin and turn all the witches into mindless slaves, Cloud Tower was much nicer than underground Tides.

Baltor had brought me back to my dorm at Alfea after he'd found me in the caverns. It was the last place I'd wanted to be, but it oddly worked itself out in a very unpleasant way.

After I'd left the party, Stella and the others had been declared as witches working with Baltor by Sky, and they'd had to make a run for it to get back home. It didn't take an hour for it to hit the Realm Wide Web and every news station in the dimension, plus the ears of every parent. A horde of parents had called in complaints to Alfea, saying they didn't feel comfortable having their daughters in a school that was being targeted by Baltor. Or, in their words, they didn't feel comfortable having their daughters in a school that was being targeted by Baltor because of _me_.

How I was brought into the conversation since I wasn't at the party when it happened, I have no idea. I wasn't going to question it though, since it gave me the perfect opportunity to get away for a while. The parents asked for me to be removed from the school, but Ms. Faragonda wouldn't allow it. I'd insisted that I at least leave for a few weeks at most, just to give the parents some ease of mind.

She was surprisingly eager to allow it.

Stella had called me once a few days ago to tell me the news that Sky and Diaspro had gotten engaged. I felt a sting of jealousy, but, other than that, I felt nothing. She'd asked if I'd wanted to go talk to him with the rest of the girls, but I refused. ("_Stella, when I said I never want to see him again, I meant that I never want to see him again._")

I'd spent my entire time off at Cloud Tower. No one would expect me to go there, so it was the easiest place to escape. It wasn't so easy when I was constantly dodging the Trix, but being around Baltor was honestly one of the most relaxing experiences of my life.

I was shocked that he'd even agreed to let me stay there with him. With how dangerous it was with the Trix being around every turn, I thought he would've turned it down flat. He barely let a second pass before he'd said yes, though. He'd said it would be a good time to finish our conversation on Tides, but I couldn't help but wonder if there was an underlying reason to why he said yes.

Staying in Cloud Tower wasn't as bad as I'd remembered it being last year during our exchange program. It also wasn't so bad that since I was restricted to only being in rooms that Baltor was in, I could finally finish asking all the questions I'd wanted to.

"Only through our powers," Baltor elaborated from his seat at Griffin's desk. "We have the ability to do a plethora of things. Once you reach your full potential, and if you ever decided to join my side of this battle, we'd be unstoppable. We could communicate telepathically, draw from each other's power, sense each other's presence –"

Looking up from the book in my hand, I perked up. "What about looking into other people's auras?"

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him give me a curious look. "What about it?

My eyes immediately shot back down to the page. "No reason," I mumbled. "Just curious."

His hand suddenly appeared out of nowhere, grabbing the book out of my hands. I spun around to see he was only about a foot away from me. "Have you done it?"

I hesitated. "Done what?"

"Have you been able to tap into others' auras?"

I shrugged. "I think so. It only happened a couple times freshmen year; I couldn't control it at all. This ghost thing would hover over people and show me what they were really thinking. It was surprisingly really useful; but disturbing at other times." My mind drifted off to that spring break with the Bonner brothers attacking the flower shop on Earth and when I told Mike and Vanessa I'd wanted to drop out of Alfea. I'd always meant to ask Faragonda about it, but it never crossed my mind till it was too late. "Why are you freaking out about it?"

"What you're describing is a trait of the Dark half of the Flame."

"So, what does that mean?"

"It means," Baltor said, "you have more potential than I originally thought." Placing his hand on my back, he led me over to the desk, showing me the book he'd been looking at. It was in some kind of language that I'd never seen before, but the ancient-looking drawings depicted what was obviously the Great Dragon. "You have the Light half of the Dragon Fire; otherwise known as the Untainted Flame. Since your Flame hasn't been tainted by darkness like mine, if used it its full power, you'd be the most powerful fairy in the Dimension. However, you'd only be as powerful as your Light allowed. If you mastered the dark aspects of the Flame, such as your prominent ability to read others' auras, alongside your training at Alfea, you'd tip the balance of this war."

"Tip the balance?" I raised an eyebrow, trying to ignore his use of the word 'dark'. "As in, I'd be more powerful than _you_?"

"Possibly even the Ancestresses."

I nearly went numb.

He smirked, catching my reaction. "Darkness might just be your key to finding them."

Doubt punched me in the gut. A familiar scream pierced through my memory, making me flinch. "No."

He paused. "No?"

"I don't want to do it." I said.

Baltor whirled on me, brow furrowed. "For the last few weeks, all you've talked about is how you want to get strong enough to find Oritel and Miriam. Now that we've finally found your chance, you say no?" Baltor was dumbfounded. "Are you insane?"

"I do want to get stronger. Becoming stronger to find them is the only thing I want in life. I'm never going to want anything more than that." I told him. "But, if I'm going to do any of it, I'm not doing it through dark magic. I'd rather die than do this through dark magic."

He stopped turning the pages, and looked over at me. A shiver ran through my spine, unbidden. "Bloom, I know you're hiding something." _Oh no_. "All I know for sure is that you have a problem with dark magic. If you don't want to spill your guts, go ahead and keep it to yourself. But the potential you have with your part of the Flame," he said, pushing the book towards me, "this is too perfect of an opportunity for you to pass up."

Baltor was right. This chance was what I'd been waiting for. If I mastered it like he said I could, I could become strong enough to find Oritel and Miriam. I could find my birth parents.

But, what if it did the opposite? What if it plunged me further into what I'd been working so hard to get away from for the past few months? What if tampering with my Darkness brought out _it_?

"What if something goes wrong?" I asked, the edge of the desk cutting into the palm of my hand. "Light and Dark don't mix well. What if –?"

Baltor's hand came up to cup my face, making me look up at him. "Bloom, I want you to listen to every word I'm about to say, and I want you to remember them for all of eternity."

I nodded, a bit stunned by his touch.

"Every power in the Magic Dimension has a Light half and a Dark half." he said. "You exploring that Dark half is not going to hurt you. It's not going to taint you; it's not going to touch you; it's not going to do anything to you. When fairies explore the Dark side of their powers they do tend to fall into Darkness, but that's not going to happen to you."

"How do you know?"

He didn't say anything for a moment, staring at me. "Because I'm not going to let it."

"What do you mean?"

Baltor sighed. "If you change your mind and you decide you do want to learn to control the Dark half, I'll teach you. I'm more experienced with it, considering it's my dominant power, so it only makes sense that I teach you."

"You're going to teach your sworn enemy how to become stronger than you?" I inquired, doubtful.

"It's not exactly teaching my enemy when my enemy isn't really an enemy."

Something fluttered in my chest. I wasn't sure when it happened, but somewhere between the times he cupped my cheek and now, I'd ended up staring at his lips. Something felt different when he said I wasn't his enemy. Like there was a warm twinge that spread through my heart that had never been there before. If I wasn't his enemy, then what was I?

I kind of liked the thought of not being enemies, but being something else. I wasn't sure what that something was, and I was okay with that. It was something that I don't think either of us knew, and that was strangely comforting.

And then I kissed him.

I don't know what came over me. Not only had I caught him off guard, I'd caught myself off guard. It was a particularly bold move; one that was definitely not in my element, and that I'd never done before.

I'd been kissed, yes, but I'd never been the kiss_er_. Sky had initiated our first kiss–

_What about Sky_?

For a split second, I thought about pulling away. A tremor of guilt twisted in my heart. It had only been a couple of weeks since that night, and here I was kissing another guy. I didn't know how long someone was supposed to wait until it was okay to be doing this, but the guilt wouldn't subside.

_And Sky waited until _during_ your relationship to find someone else. _

My guilt immediately disappeared.

I still couldn't deny that this was wrong, though. Everything about this was wrong. This man hurt my friends, hurt _me_, and hurt thousands of other innocent people. I shouldn't have even had _thoughts_ about wanting to kiss him, let alone actually kiss him. It was insane.

Then he kissed me back.

And all of my thoughts flew out the window.

My blood turned to liquid fire, making my heart beat loudly in my ears. My skin tingled under his touch, and I didn't know whether or not I should chalk it up to our Dragon Fire connection or if it was just him. However, when he guided my mouth open with his hand so his tongue could slide in, I knew it was just him.

Weakness spread through my legs, and I gripped the lapels of his coat to hold myself up. Baltor's hands slid onto my waist, holding me against him. I tightened my hold on him when I felt his fingertips brush across the skin beneath my shirt, a shiver trickling down my spine.

Desperate for air, I pulled away, but was quickly pulled back in, Baltor's lips slamming against my own. I was thrown off a bit, but I wasn't going to complain when he was kissing me.

Forcefully, he backed me up against the nearest wall, pinning me with his body. My brain was screaming at me that this was getting too serious, that I wasn't ready for what he was clearly trying to drive this towards. I started to agree with that rational part of my head, until he possessively grabbed my waist and slid his thumbs into my skirt to rub my hipbones. That was the biggest 'shut up' my brain's ever received.

His hand reached up to rest on the side of my neck, opening my mouth to him again with his thumb. My grip on his coat loosened slightly, feeling him drift his hand onto the front of my throat. I barely noticed it at first, too distracted by the kiss to care, until he pressed it forward.

I tried to maneuver his hand back down, but the second I touched him his grip tightened. The pressure he was putting on my neck was unbearable, his fingers tightly squeezing my throat. Opening my eyes, fear flooded through my veins as I stared into red irises instead of grey ones.

I couldn't breathe. His grip on my throat was cutting off my airways, not allowing a single ounce of air into my lungs. I tried to breathe in, but it was useless. Light-headedness settled in and white light spotted my vision while I felt blood rush to my face. Soon, I was going to be unconscious or dead, and I felt powerless to stop it. I was doomed to suffocate, clawing at his hand to try and save my life.

Then he smirked.

And with barely a flick of his wrist, he flung me across the room.

I collided with the bookcase in half a second, searing pain shooting through every nerve in my body. I crumpled to the floor like a broken ragdoll, gasping and choking on the air that rushed back into my airways. I was practically gulping for air. An explosion of books erupted from the bookcase, raining down from the force of my impact. The blow didn't knock me out completely, but I was dangerously on the verge. Darkness tinted the edges of my vision, warning me what taking another hit like that could do.

I didn't know what had happened to Baltor, but this wasn't him. It didn't make sense for him to just randomly change his character and demeanor towards me like this. If he'd wanted to kill me this whole time, he would've done it much sooner than now.

Jumping back to my feet as quickly as I could, I transformed and made two fireballs appear in my hands. "Baltor, I don't want to fight you!" My exclamation sounded pathetic, my vocal chords strained from the immense pressure put on them not minutes ago.

Before I could threaten to throw one, both dissipated, turning into nothing but trails of smoke. My eyes shot down to my steaming palms, dumbstruck.

"We're connected, remember? We can tap into each other's power sources." Baltor said, conjuring a fireball of his own, seeming to be made of raw dark energy. "Well, at least _I _can tap into yours."

It was like child's play to him.

The fireball hit me straight in the stomach, tossing me across the room again. I slammed into what used to be Griffin's desk, my forehead scraping against one of the corners. I felt the skin above my left eyebrow break open, allowing hot blood start to drip down the side of my face. Soreness spread through my abdomen, his blast sure to leave an enormous bruise there later.

If I was alive for later.

I could barely move at all. My limbs were either numb or surging with pain from his attacks. I knew Baltor had major power, but my imagination came nowhere close to this. This was a nightmare straight from hell.

I had barely made it back onto my hands and knees when Baltor approached me again, scowl adorning his face. Grabbing a fistful of my hair, he brought my head up to meet his gaze for a moment. "Please, darling, at least give me a decent challenge."

Seeing my inability to fight back, he sighed and made a _tsk_ sound. "Such a pity." Reaffirming his grip on my hair, he promptly slammed my face into the ground.

* * *

I'd experienced pain before. After Shadow Haunt, I'd been much more capable of handling pain. However, I was much more capable of handling pain when I was expecting it. Not when I was just waking up from unconsciousness.

I immediately pressed a hand to my forehead the moment I woke up, a ridiculous attempt to dull the intense throbbing in my head. It was as if I'd had my head bashed in with multiple sledgehammers, all having the desire to crack open my skull. Needless to say, it wasn't pleasant whatsoever.

It hurt to even look around. Not that I could see anything, of course. The room I was in was so dark I could barely see an inch in front of my nose. I tried to squint my eyes, but it only made the headache worse. From what I could feel though, there were at least five sheets covering me, and I was laying on the most comfortable mattress I'd ever slept on.

_Where the hell am I?_

_ What happened_?

Moving to sit up, I bit back a yelp, feeling like a knife was being twisted into my stomach. Looking down at myself, a bruise covered the majority of my abdomen, dark and purple.

_When did I get that?_

There was a large window on the wall next to me, letting in some moonlight. But that was as far as I could evaluate.

A loud creak resonated from across the room, and my eyes shot towards it. I could just barely see a door shut, and a familiar figure cautiously step into the room.

Relief swelled in my chest. Cracking a small smile and quickly sitting up, regret instantly hit me, seeing the room spin around me.

Baltor gently pushed me back down onto the pillows, gripping me like I was glass. "Relax, you're fine." I could see a whole range of emotions in his eyes, all of which flickered intermittently –relief, fear, anguish.

"Where am I?" I asked. The sound of my voice startled me –raw, nearly non-existent, and just as sore as my head.

"Headmaster's chambers. I didn't want to risk moving you to Alfea with how much damage you'd taken."

Repositioning my hand on my head, I froze when it came into contact with what felt like gauze. Not surprisingly, I whimpered in pain when I touched it.

"Will you stop touching everything?" Baltor chided, pulling my hand down. "I don't want to have to re-bandage that again."

I wanted to reach back up just to spite him, but I was too exhausted to unnecessarily move.

"What happened?"

"You kissed me." There was a pause. "And I kissed you back."

And then it all hit me –Baltor saying he would help me, the kiss, the _fight . . ._

I was still as lost as ever. Baltor had never been that violent towards me. I'd never seen him act that violent towards _anyone_. It was like watching him turn into a bloodlust beast.

I stiffened a bit, remembering how he'd lashed out. But that was the last of it that I could remember. After he'd bashed my head against floor, I didn't remember anything.

_ What else did he do?_

I internally shook off the paranoia, wanting to give him the benefit of the doubt. There had to be an explanation, especially if he was back to his normal self.

Despite how much it hurt, I laughed, trying to make light of the situation. "Well, if this is what happens when we kiss, can you imagine what sex would do?"

He didn't react, his gaze only becoming more serious. I shrank back into myself a bit, scared that I might set him off.

"What's my damage?" I asked, switching the subject.

"Too much to count."

My stomach painfully churned, thinking about what all he possibly did.

"What happened to you back there?" I asked, breaking the minute or so of silence. "It was like you weren't –"

"Human," Baltor finished. "That's because I'm not."

I didn't say anything, confused.

"To put it simply," Baltor said, staring down at the floor, "when I joined the Ancestresses, they put a dark curse on me. Since I was their 'pet' they wanted to make sure that I remembered that that's all I was. I was only alive to do their bidding and aid them with my half of the Dragon Fire. Any other real aspect of life was forbidden, and the dark curse enforced that rule.

"Any time I experienced intense fury, I'd morph into a demon. I'd become completely susceptible to whatever they wanted; under their control at all times until they were done." He paused, glancing up at me. "And you were the unfortunate victim of the other half of the curse."

I became a little wary at the sound of 'demon,' but I tried to keep my mind focused. "What other half?"

"If I ever found myself in a situation of passion or lust, I'd lose control of my hold on the demon." he continued. "It didn't matter who I was with; if I lost control, they'd be dead in minutes. And it didn't help that it was _you_."

"Why?"

He hesitated, debating on whether not to tell me. "I trained under the Ancestresses for many years, and I was trained to do one thing. My job under the Ancestresses wasn't to go after your parents; it was to go after the Dragon Fire. My job was to kill you."

I didn't know how to react. In my heart, I kind of always guessed that that was what his job was. When he denied that it was to kill my parents, but then wouldn't say just what it was, it made sense that it was to kill me. Use one Dragon Fire to kill the other. It horrifically made sense.

"You spent years of your life training to kill a baby?"

"They never told me who _you_ were. I don't think _they_ even knew." Baltor admitted. "I assumed it was Daphne till I found the Ancestresses hovering over her corpse." My stomach twisted. "It wasn't until they told me to 'go after the child' did I realize it was you. But the Company of Light found me and threw me in Omega before I could do anything."

"What does this have to do with what happened earlier?"

"Their plan was to have me turn into the demon whenever I found you. I was trained to kill you on sight. Any time the demon would come into contact with you, it would tear you apart. Therefore, when you kissed me, the curse awoke. If it was anyone else, the demon would've simply choked you to death, but when it recognized who you were . . ."

I felt tears sting the backs of my eyes, but I quickly blinked to get rid of them. "But you stopped."

"Only because someone intervened before I could finish you off."

I remained silent.

"This isn't safe for you."

I looked over at him, seeing him shake his head. "Don't."

"Don't?"

"Don't worry about me."

He looked at me as if I were insane. "I nearly killed you, and you don't want me to be concerned about it? Are you crazy?"

"I don't want you freaking out over something you can't control!" The raise in my voice made my head pound harder. "This isn't your fault; it's the Ancestresses'!" Not caring about the pain that shot through my body, I reached over and grabbed his hand. He flinched at first; like he was afraid he would hurt me just by doing that, but eventually gave in.

"Either way, the curse still stands."

I shrugged. "Then let's break it!"

"Don't you think I would've broken it already if I had the power to? Besides, neither of us is strong enough to break one of their curses."

Dread overwhelmed my pain, and I slumped back against the pillows. Hearing him say that made me realize just what it was going to take to break the curse. I didn't want to do it, but at the same time I did.

"One of us has the _potential_ to." I quietly spoke up.

Baltor immediately responded: "No."

"You said it yourself; I have the potential to be more powerful than you _and_ the Ancestresses."

"You said no."

"Well, now I'm saying yes."

"And you're suddenly okay with this now?"

I shrugged for what felt like the thousandth time that night, flicking away a tear of hysteria. "If it's going to help you, then yes."

"I'm not going to let you do something you don't actually want to do just to break a curse."

"Then consider it a side-benefit to getting the power to find my birth parents."

There was a moment's pause, then Baltor's defeated sigh. "I don't suppose I can stop you, can I?"

"You could always choose to not teach me. But I know that you're too curious about what I could do with my powers to _not_ teach me."

He smirked. "Helping your sworn enemy would be greatly frowned upon."

Catching his eye, I noticed a teasing glint in them, and I smirked back. "It's not exactly helping my enemy when my enemy isn't really an enemy."

* * *

I woke up again a few hours later to a quiet shuffling.

Glancing to my left, I saw that Baltor was gone. There wasn't a single trace of him being there at all, and being in the room without him made me slightly uneasy. Sitting alone in Cloud Tower was not the best situation for me to be in.

Hearing the shuffling again, I turned to look towards the large window. My heart practically stopped for a moment when I saw a tall, slender figure standing in the shadows next to it. All of the students here were trapped under Baltor's spell, so it couldn't be any of them. That meant . . .

_Shit_.

I didn't know what to do. Any slight movement and I would be writhing in agony. There was no way I was going to be able to defend myself from _her_. This was her perfect chance to finally get rid of me for good.

"Out of all of you idiot fairies, I didn't expect you to be the dumbest."

I froze, confused.

_Darcy_?

The brunette witch of darkness glared over at me, not a single ounce of pleasantry in her features. "If anyone here gets to ask questions as to why the other is here, I think I automatically gain that right." she said, walking towards the end of the bed. "But, then again, I don't think either of us is surprised that you're here."

Remembering the look she'd given me when I met with Baltor on Tides, I grew wary. She'd picked up on us the second she saw us together.

Did that mean Icy and Stormy knew? Thinking about what Icy would do if she found out about Baltor and me being within five feet of each other made me tremble.

"Look, frankly, I don't care about what happened between you and him earlier," Darcy continued. "In any other situation, I would've let him finish tearing you apart. Since I regrettably owe you, though, I'm here to give you a warning." She peered at me from over her yellow-tinted glasses. "I know you're an idiot who thinks she can somehow save everyone in the Dimension, but I'm here to give you a reality check. Baltor isn't everyone. And, if you had an ounce of common sense in your head, you'd walk away. What he's suffering from, you can't save him. If you try, you're going to end up dead. Your relationship with him isn't going to have the happy ending your cheerful head thinks you're going to get."

"We're not in a relationship," I defended. My fingers tightened around one of the sheets, subconsciously.

She raised her brow. "You've been staying here for the past week, and now you're sleeping in his bed." she said. "If you're not in a relationship, you two are certainly in one intimate partnership."

I set my jaw, unable to keep my face from heating up.

"You can deny it all you want," Darcy continued, strutting over to the door. "My statement still stands. If you stay in this 'intimate partnership,' you have a sincere death wish."

Glaring down at my clenched hand, I considered her words.

It _was_ a death wish. But Baltor losing control wasn't what I was worried about. I was more concerned about _me_ losing control. With how he was going to be training me in dark magic, I could very easily slip up. The catastrophe that could follow that could be tremendous.

"Bloom."

Opening my eyes, they shot to Darcy, standing in front of the door.

"What Icy did in Shadow Haunt," she said. "We didn't know she was going to do that."

Staring at her for a moment, I saw the slightest bit of guilt. I figured that Darcy and Stormy would've been right there to defend Icy. However, this could've been her trying to save her own skin after knowing just what Baltor was capable of doing. Then again, remembering her and Stormy's faces that night, Icy seemed to have taken _everyone_ off guard.

She opened her mouth like she was going to add something, but changed her mind.

"Darcy?"

The witch looked at me, expectantly. I was surprised she'd heard me at all.

"If there is one thing that we're ever at an understanding on," I said. "Baltor never finds out about what happened with me and Icy in Shadow Haunt. _Ever_."

She gave me a curt nod before slipping out the door.

* * *

_There are probably a lot of grammar errors in this, but I'm too tired to go through and fix every one of them, so I'll fix them during work tomorrow. I've made you all wait long enough._

_I've never been kissed in my entire life, so I hope I wrote that well enough for everyone to be okay with it. I'm oblivious in everything romantic, but I try to emulate that I am. However, I have been suffocated sort of, because, since I don't know how to swim I have almost drowned twice. I relived those experiences in my head while writing that scene and had multiple panic attacks, so you better appreciate the pain and stress I go through for you guys!_

_But, yay! The major plot point is finally out! Yes, ladies and gentlemen, if you have already forgotten, Baltor is kind of a demon (reference the last few episodes of Season 3). I really wanted to focus on that plot point because I feel that everyone just likes to push that to the side of their mind (I'm very guilty of that), but I didn't want to avoid it in this story. I wanted to confront it full on. So, I decided to make this a very complicated love story. I wanted to go as far as them not even being able to hug or anything, but that was psychotic and I was going to torture myself that much._

_And, yes, Darcy knows about them being together! I figured that if anyone was going to be the first to notice a relationship like this, it was going to be her considering her fling with Riven in Season 1. And I was watching Season 3 the other day, and I noticed that Darcy pretty much never tries to attack Bloom like she does in every other season, so I felt like it fit. So, I really wanted to illustrate that in here, and give her somewhat of a conscience. I like Darcy, I want her to be somewhat likable, but don't bank on seeing it a lot._

_Why are you avoiding Bloom knowing about Enchantix? You shall see. Why are you avoiding talking about the Shadow Haunt incident? You shall see. If you have any other questions, I can probably answer them with the phrase 'You shall see.'_

_**VERY IMPORTANT NOTE**: I just wanted to let you guys know that I do not know when the next chapter is coming out. As you all know, if you've been reading these author's notes and if you've been looking at my posts on tumblr, I've been enduring a lot of family issues and now I am enduring some personal, emotional issues. But, I want to tell you guys that no matter what you read from me either in my profile status or on my tumblr, I do not plan to ditch this story. I love this story, and the support I get from all of you means the absolute world to me, and I honestly feel like I don't deserve it. I love each and every single one of you, and I am not going to let this story fall to shambles just because of a little stress. I don't care how long it takes me, this story will get finished!_

_Alright, ladies and gents, I'm going to go outline the next couple of chapters of this! So, as always, please leave a review telling me what you think and if you have a guess at what happened between Bloom and Icy while they were in Shadow Haunt, and I'll see you all later!_

_~Bloom_


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

"Bloom, on your left!"

Quickly ducking, I barely dodged the spiked club that whizzed over my head. Frantically, I leapt into the air, hovering a few feet over the monstrous-looking criminal, and hit him with a Dragon Blast. He was immediately knocked unconscious.

I hadn't had a moment's peace since I left Cloud Tower a week ago. I'd spent a few more days there than I'd planned to since the little incident with Baltor losing control, but there was no way I could go back to Alfea looking like I had without everyone wondering what had happened. So, following a couple more healing spells plus a few days of recuperating and I was good as new.

It didn't take a few hours of me being back at Alfea for a series of bad things to happen.

To send a message to Faragonda, who he somehow had a past with, Baltor sent his army of zombie witches to attack Alfea. We were totally unprepared for it, and the magic barrier that Faragonda had put up around the school to protect us was blown to pieces. And, since it was torn to pieces, it gave the Trix the perfect opportunity to try and steal the magic scrolls stored in the Secret Vault. A huge battle ensued between us and them, and eventually they decided that if they weren't going to have the scrolls, no one should, and then Darcy set the entire library on fire. Nothing we did was putting the fire out, and just as we were about to leave we noticed a girl from Musa's realm caught in the blaze known as Princess Galatea. Musa refused to leave without her, when suddenly she underwent the same transformation as Layla, as well. In a flash, she was wearing a two-piece red, blue, and gold top and skirt with transparent gold gloves, and massive wings. Her pigtails remained the same, except for a small tiara appearing in her blue hair. The fire was put out instantly.

I'd asked Flora about what had happened with Musa, but she quickly changed the subject.

After that, we had to sneak into Cloud Tower with Mirta to find the Vault Monsters that roamed the halls for info on Ms. Faragonda's whereabouts, who went missing when she fought Baltor one-on-one. Turned out, he fused her life force with a tree's, and if we didn't save her in time, she would be stuck like that for all of eternity. (Baltor told me later that night that since I told him he wasn't allowed to do what he actually wanted with his revenge, he still wanted to 'put her in the ground.') The only cure for it was on Linphea, using water from a tree called the Black Willow that could reverse any spell or curse. It was a tree whose sister was burned and destroyed so it somehow moved to a cave on top of a mountain and it cried so much it created a waterfall where the water flows backwards. I didn't question it; I just went along with it.

We made it to Linphea the day after where we met Flora's adorable little sister Rose, and set forth on our very long journey to find the Black Willow. It also didn't help that the Trix followed us there to try and kill us to 'prove they were Baltor's main witch' or some weird reason like that. _Another_ battle occurred with them after we found the Black Willow where multiple horrible things happened –Darcy poisoned the tree and killed it, the Trix tried to drown Rose, and Flora nearly drowned trying to save Rose. Everything worked itself out in the end, though, because what happened to Musa in the library happened to Flora. She ended up losing her old Winx transformation and gaining another similar to the one Layla, Musa, and Stella had. It was a small pink halter dress that looked like it was constructed of flower petals, with multi-colored gems decorating the bust and a pair of pink transparent elbow-length gloves, and large pink and green wings. Her hair reached the floor, similar to the other girls', and there was a small tiara pinned in it.

Still, no one would tell me just what the transformation was.

Once we got back to Alfea and saved Ms. F, I thought I was finally home free. Nothing else bad could possibly happen, right?

Wrong.

The situation on Tides had steadily grown out of control, and it was finally at its peak. Baltor hadn't been keeping tabs on what was happening with the Omega Portal; he wasn't concerned about what happened to the realm since he had taken all of the magic he thought was useful. However, since there was nothing to contain it, it now was bringing both Tides and Omega closer together –as in, the planets were literally going to collide. And unless the Omega Portal was contained, both Omega and Tides would be obliterated along with all of their inhabitants.

We rushed to Tides to find that the criminals who had been able to break free of their ice prisons on Omega had gone through the portal and were now terrorizing the planet. Most of them were on the path that led to the portal, meaning we would have to fight our way through to reach it. We could've flown, but the weapons the criminals had were extensive and some could bring us down if we tried to fly over them.

Stella and Tecna had flown off earlier per King Teredor's orders to collect a priest by the name of Taboc. He said that Taboc had been one of the creators of the Omega Portal; therefore, he was essential to its closure.

That was an hour ago. And there was still no word from them.

"Have you seen any sign of Stella and Tecna?" Flora asked as if she'd heard my thoughts.

I shook my head. "Have you?"

She shook her head.

Quickly evaluating how big of a crap storm we were in, I tried not to focus on the lack of news. "Alright, we need to keep them away from the city until they get here." I said, acting confident. "Flora, you and Musa take the right flank. Layla and I will take the left."

Nodding, we all broke apart. Swerving to the left, I flew up into the air and released two streams of fire at a group of escapees.

"So, I heard your dad mention something about coming out with the Tides army?" I inquired to Layla, throwing up a shield to block one of the convict's weapons.

"Yeah," she confirmed, blasting the guy away from me. "He said he was going to rally a few of the fleets and meet up with us."

My breaths were starting to become heavy and staggered. "Do you have any idea how much longer that could take?"

"It all depends on which two fleets he picks."

"Oh, well, no rush or anything."

Layla leapt up further in the air, barely missing contact with a scythe. "He's on his way!"

"If he doesn't hurry we're going to be on our way to being dead!" Musa interjected.

"She's right," Flora regretfully added. "We're outnumbered. If we don't do something quick then we're going to be in some serious trouble."

"Well, what are we going to do?" Layla asked.

I shook my head, continuing to block multiple enemies. "I have no idea."

We were running out of energy. Soon, we'd barely have any power left to fight. The other girls seemed to be doing a bit better than I was, due to their new transformation or whatever the hell it was; but, either way we weren't going to last much longer. Flora was right about being outnumbered. There was no way we could fight all of these guys and actually win. We were going to pass out from lack of energy or lose concentration and be severely struck. Neither were pleasant options.

"Bloom, monster at six o'clock!"

Spinning around, I felt a sudden sense of dread. The beastly looking monster was too close to me for me to react quickly enough. With his proximity, in half a second, I was bound to be a goner.

"_Sunshine Lasso_!"

To my surprise, a golden rope wrapped around the monster's neck and tugged it back. The force on the monster was too much for it, bringing it to the ground with a small jerk. I couldn't help but smile in relief at the familiar voice.

"Stella!"

The pigtailed blonde was hovering in the air, flaunting her new stylish transformation. She'd earned hers at the Millennium party trying to save her father from being killed by a dragon. (I'm still a little fuzzy on just what all happened at that party, but I'm kind of glad I missed it.)

"Don't worry everyone!" she exclaimed, happily. "I'm here now!"

"Someone please remind me why we were so worried that she was gone?" Musa said, annoyed.

"Where's Tecna?" Flora asked Stella.

"She took a different route with Taboc to the portal. They're waiting for us; we need to go."

"We can't just leave!" Layla protested. "We're still being swarmed by monsters and criminals. We'll never be able to fight our way through!"

"Oh my God!" I shouted, losing my patience. "Why don't we just combine our powers and freaking teleport onto the damn portal?"

A loud boom resounded around us, making the ground shake. Pivoting towards the noise, our jaws dropped. Thousands of armor-clad soldiers were charging the recently released criminals, battling them off. King Teredor was at the front, creating enough of a distraction for us to have a straight shot for the portal.

"Or we could just fly!" I added, shrugging. "That's cool, too, now that that's an option again."

"We don't have time to debate this!" Stella told Layla. "We need to take this chance and run!"

Layla was reluctant, glancing towards her father. She was torn between staying and joining him.

Flora reached over to her, catching the Morphix fairy's attention. "He'll be fine. He can take care of himself. We need to go."

There was a pause, but Layla eventually nodded.

Not hesitating, we immediately took off.

The portal was much larger up close than I'd thought it would be. I'd only caught glimpses of it while fighting the monsters, but my scaling was way off. There was no visible top to the spiraling tower of magic, looking as if it merged with the sky. Emanating from it was two light sources, one for each realm it was connected to –blue for Omega and red for Tides. It was giving off a powerful wind, nearly knocking all of us over the edge. It was seething with pent up energy, and if we didn't stop it soon, we'd all be dead within the hour.

Seeing two forms standing on the platform, we all landed relatively close to them. I recognized Tecna, but I didn't recognize the dark-skinned, elderly, grey-haired man with her. From appearance, I assumed he was the priest Layla had referred to before, wearing a long white robe with a long red and yellow cape.

"Guys, this is Taboc," Layla introduced. "I would go more into details but from what I'm guessing, we don't have a lot of time to be formal."

Taboc shook his head. "The Omega Portal is very close to reaching full capacity. Soon, it will obliterate everything in its path. Tides and Omega will be no more."

Worry spread through my head, making me wonder just how long we had left.

"You put a stop button on this thing, right?" I asked Taboc. "You know, in case something like this happened?"

He nodded.

"Here's a better question," Musa quipped. "Why make it in the first place? What was the purpose of this?"

Taboc solemnly shook his head, dark eyes filled with regret. "Many years ago, the triad of wizards I was in was enlisted by the Magix Council to create a prison that could hold the most dangerous of criminals. The only way that anyone could leave would be through this portal, but it was inescapable. No one could open it. And now, the portal that was supposed to keep us safe will soon destroy us all."

"Wow," Musa muttered. "That was really dumb."

"This scroll holds a spell powerful enough to shut the Omega Portal," Taboc explained, pulling a roll of paper out of his robe. "It's the only secure way to save Tides."

It was like the Portal sensed the scroll's presence. The wind picked up, blasting us nearly over the edge. The scroll was torn from Taboc's hands, fluttering around the tornado of energy, and then vanished inside it. Once it had disappeared, the wind died down to its original speed.

All of us were knocked into silence, watching our last bit of hope disappear into the funnel.

"I don't think it's very happy with you," Musa commented to Taboc.

"Without that scroll, I cannot close the portal," Taboc said, defeated.

"How are we supposed to close it then?" Layla asked, dumbstruck.

"We will have to go to drastic measures. If you are going to save Tides, someone will have to close it from the inside."

We all looked at each other. All of us knew what he was implying, and from the looks in our eyes, we were all a bit hesitant.

"What will happen to the person who does it?" Musa inquired, voice shaking slightly.

"I do not know. It will depend on their will and their strength."

How helpful.

"We can't just let this Portal destroy Tides," Stella said, worriedly. "We're going to have to risk it."

Musa nodded. "But then there's the question of who's willing to go in?"

We were all silent again.

All of us had our reasons for not wanting to go in. It seemed a bit selfish for all of us to not want to be the martyr, but who could blame us? Going in there was a dance with death. Dying was never in the job description.

I couldn't let Tides turn into Sparx. I couldn't let what happened to me happen to Layla. If the Omega Portal got any more out of hand, people were going to start getting hurt. The impact of Omega colliding with Tides would potentially be too much. Both would be completely destroyed. And while I wasn't very fond of the convicts lingering in the icy hellhole, there were only innocents on Tides.

I'd go in and close it.

_What about Baltor_?

That thought made me stop from volunteering.

I was finally beginning to heal. I was finally beginning to _feel_ again, and I had Baltor to thank for that. What kind of repayment would this be? Leaping in there would be me saying I didn't care about anything he'd done for me, and that I didn't care about him.

But I did.

I could easily imagine him standing in front of me, yelling at me for being an idiot and telling me to get the hell off of Tides. I'd been around him long enough to know that he never hesitated to call me out on my mistakes, just like I never hesitated to do so with him.

The longer I thought about him, the more sure I was that I needed to be the one to jump into that portal. Knowing that Tides was going to be destroyed because of Baltor's destruction made my heart twist in guilt. I couldn't not feel responsible. I was shamelessly flirting with the enemy that didn't have a care in the world that he was destroying two realms.

I hated the thought of possibly leaving everything behind, but I couldn't live with myself if I didn't try to do something.

"I'll close it."

The girls all stared at me with wide eyes.

"It makes the most sense." I explained, trying to not let them see how tight I was clenching my fist.

"Bloom, no." Layla protested, moving in front of me to stop me from entering the portal. "I'm not going to let you sacrifice yourself for Tides. This is my realm; I need to do this."

"Layla, I really hate to make myself sound almighty and powerful, but I have the Dragon Fire." I said, attempting to come up with a foolproof explanation. "If the Dragon Fire isn't powerful enough to close this portal, what can?"

Everyone glanced at each other, solemnly.

"Then I'm going in with you." Layla replied, a fierce look in her teal eyes. "We do this together." She stuck her hand out to me.

I felt a slight bit of relief, knowing that I wasn't going to be alone. Reaching out, I accepted her hand. "Alright. Together."

We didn't say goodbye to anyone, determined to only think of a positive outcome. Layla did it out of bravery. I didn't because I was too busy trying to put on the façade that I was as brave as Layla. However, that didn't stop me from silently praying that we didn't get trapped in the Omega Dimension or killed in the process.

Facing the Omega Portal, we both began walking towards it.

The closer we got to it, the windier it became. Our eyes were nearly squeezed shut by the time we were close enough to enter it. I wanted to back out. I wanted to back out so bad. Glancing over at Layla, I saw her give me a firm nod. She was confident enough for the both of us. I didn't need to feel brave; I just needed to not think. Then, after taking a final moment to collect ourselves, we tightened our grip on each other and we jumped.

We didn't stand a chance.

Layla and I were torn from each other, separated with absolutely no chance of reuniting. The wind was like thunder in my ears, throwing me around the portal like I was weightless. Brief flashes of icy air continuously struck me all over, knocking the air out of my lungs so much I couldn't breathe.

After what felt like hours, we were thrown from the portal.

The portal flung us away, sending us soaring across the monument. My skin scraped against the rock as I slid to a stop near the edge. Skidding to a halt, I shakily pulled myself up onto my hands and knees. It wasn't excruciating, but it was enough to make it difficult to support myself. A spot of red on the dirt caught my eye, making me freeze. Taking a longer look, I gradually comprehended what I was looking at.

Blood.

Seeing another drop fall into the small puddle, I lifted a hand to my nose, coming in contact with warm liquid.

Looking over at Layla, I saw she was looking at me with wide eyes, just as stunned as I. She appeared to be in the same state, blood dripping from her nose, as well.

It rejected us.

"It's no use," Taboc said, sadly. "There's nothing more we can do. Tides is doomed."

"Oh, stop being so dramatic!" Stella chided, wagging her finger at the priest. "Surely there's someone who can close this thing."

"I'll do it!"

My eyes shot up to Tecna as she boldly walked past us, straight towards the portal. If the portal rejected me and Layla, there was no way it would accept any of the other girls.

Right?

"Tecna, you can't go in there!" Flora shouted, moving to run after her.

"Wait!" Taboc grabbed Flora, holding her back from going after Tecna. "We must let her try."

"You can't be serious?" Musa scoffed in shock. "You saw what that thing did to Bloom and Layla, and they're two of the strongest fairies here!"

"This act of sacrifice may be enough to close the portal."

"I honestly thought that the creation of the portal was going to be the most ridiculous story you'd tell," Musa remarked. "But this is just insane! Surely this portal can't determine sacrifice, right?"

He didn't speak, but gave her a look that made me uncertain.

If Tecna was scared she was extremely good at hiding it. There wasn't a lick of fear on her face as she approached the portal. Her expression was straight, and her posture exuded determination. There was no chance of us trying to get her to come back.

She barely came to a stop when she reached the edge before she leapt inside. Musa blanched, clearly thinking that Tecna wouldn't actually do it. None of us did. Tecna was always so meek; we'd never expect her to do something as bold as this.

To our shock, the reaction the portal had to me and Layla didn't replicate with Tecna. She remained in the center of the portal, at a complete standstill. Her eyes were closed in deep concentration for what felt like an eternity (Stella even asked if she was still alive). But then she opened them.

A bright light shone through the portal, blinding everyone around it for a brief moment. When it disappeared, we were terrified something had gone horribly wrong.

Tecna was still in the portal though, smiling to herself.

She'd gained the new transformation.

She was wearing a two-piece outfit like Layla and Musa, but hers included shorts and was purple, green, and silver with silver transparent gloves, with huge tech-styled wings. Her hair lengthened a bit, but only down to the nape of her neck, and an intricate gold symbol was clipped in it.

What the hell was going on with everyone?

Tecna swerved back, exiting the portal like it was nothing at all. Grabbing the small trinket connected to her choker, she pulled it off and opened it. Tipping it over, it looked like she was sprinkling . . .

"Dust?" I questioned, glancing over at Flora.

Flora's eyes immediately shot to the ground, nervously.

I looked over at the others who had clearly heard my question, as well. All of them were giving me sad, almost sympathetic looks, but still no one said anything

Were they hiding something from me?

I was about to ask what was going on when the wind suddenly began to pick up. Turning my attention back to Tecna, I saw her begin to _bend_ the portal, forcing it down on itself.

"It's working!"

Taboc's exclamation made me start to worry. Yes, it was working, but with the amount of force Tecna was implementing, would she be able to break away?

My stomach dropped.

A bright beam of light exploded from the center of the Omega Portal, causing Tecna to lose focus and get caught back inside. The ground beneath it opened just enough to let the portal collapse, but the force was too strong. If it was going down, Tecna was going down with it.

"Tecna, no!" Musa made a mad dash towards the portal, horror apparent in her almond-shaped eyes. Leaping forward, she reached out to drag Tecna out just as the portal finished spiraling into the ground.

Musa grunted in pain as she fell to the ground.

Silence.

The portal was gone.

And so was Tecna.

Rising to her hands and knees, she started running her hands across the ground, searching for some way to get to Tecna. "What happened?" Musa's voice was small, laced with fear. Spinning to Taboc, her hands balled into fists. "What just happened?"

"The portal accepted your friend's sacrifice."

My blood ran cold.

She paled, shaking her head. I thought she was going to be sick, comprehending what Taboc was saying. "But I grabbed her!" she denied. "I grabbed her arm! I grabbed her!"

Taboc stood in silence, head bowed.

We were all too stunned to break down into tears. My entire body was numb; my brain taking its time in comprehending the full realization that Tecna was gone. I saw a few tears start to slip down the other girls' cheeks, but I was still waiting for mine to come.

Musa's shrill cries pierced through the air, her fists slamming against the small circle that was left of the portal. Her nails tore at it, desperate to try to get it back open. "We have to get her out of there! Convicts were still breaking out of their prisons before the portal closed! She's all alone! If they ganged up on her–"

"There is nothing we can do," Taboc said, solemnly. "There is no way to get her back."

The music fairy shook her head, tears building in her eyes. "No, there's gotta be a way! There has to be _something_!" she raged. "_Anything_!"

He said nothing.

"It can't just end like this!" Her head whirled in my direction. "Bloom, you have the Dragon Fire! _Do_ _something_!"

My heart beat painfully in my chest. I wanted to do something. I would've done anything, but there was nothing I could do. I was powerless.

Her eyes shot to each of the other girls, agony residing deep in them, begging them for help. But they were as powerless as I was. None of us knew what to do. None of us knew what we were supposed to do.

The anger she was exuding disappeared, seeing that we couldn't do anything either. For one final time, she looked at each of us.

Then she broke.

Tears gushed down her face like waterfalls, her hand coming up to cover her mouth to stifle her loud wailing. She lost the energy to keep up her transformation, returning to the clothes she'd had before we arrived. Her forehead brushed against the center of the platform where Tecna had been only moments ago, as she curled into herself.

It was disturbing to see Musa cry. Not because of appearance or anything, that would've been absurd. Musa never actually cried. She did every now again over a few fights with Riven and when something reminded her of her mom. However, this was different. This break down was something none of us had ever seen before.

Tecna was who Musa was the most close to. They were practically siblings, despite how Tecna was always constantly throwing fits about Musa playing her music too loud. Losing her mother, and now losing Tecna . . .

The death of a loved one was something I'd always feared. I'd lost Daphne, but I never actually knew her. I was a baby when she died. I couldn't accurately detail what losing her would've felt like. And, if it felt like how Musa was portraying it, I prayed I never had to endure it.

"This is all his fault," Layla muttered, clenching her fist.

I looked over at her, feeling like I already knew the answer to my question. "All whose fault?"

"Baltor's." Her face darkened. "He's to blame for this."

And for a fleeting moment, I agreed.

* * *

_I am so exhausted; you all have no idea. This chapter was so much work, and with my crippling existential crisis and my insane prom, I want to crawl into bed and sleep for about a month. It's ridiculous. (Not to say prom wasn't fun; but it wore me the hell out.) I promise I'll fix any grammatical mistakes in the morning. I just wanted to get this chapter out because I've made you all wait long enough._

_Tecna is gone. Poor Tecna. I was considering scrapping this scene and just referring to it, but I decided against that mostly because I wanted to show that the other girls weren't they're not just figureheads and they're experiencing things during this battle, too. This event is also one that sets up the basis for the next chapter where Bloom and Baltor get into their very first real fight. That one's going to be fun. I don't know why I love writing them when they're yelling at each other, but I do. I love it so much._

_Also, for those of you who keep asking why I haven't let Bloom figure out about Enchantix, that's going to be explained in either the next chapter or the chapter after that; it all depends on where I can fit it in. But, I promise, she's about to learn about Enchantix very, very soon! I just want it to be at the right time, and I have a very specific plan for the next few chapters that way it fits in perfectly._

_And if you haven't heard, in-between writing these chapters, I'm doing am AU drabble/one-shot collection about Sparxshipping where I am taking requests for situations that you would like to see them in! I've been having fun writing them, and I'm definitely enjoying the requests I've gotten so far but I would love to have some more, so please, if you an idea or two, PM me! The next one that's going to be up is one about Boy Bands, and oh my god, I love every second of it._

_Well, if you all will excuse me, I have a nap I need to go take and a room I need to not clean! If you could, please leave a review for this chapter –I read every single one of them and I even respond to some, so they are greatly appreciated– and I will see you guys later!_

_~Bloom_


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

The boys (minus Sky) didn't pick us up in the ship till about an hour later. None of us spoke as we entered it, but we all pitied the girl who had to tell a certain spectacled specialist what happened. The moment he asked where Tecna was, Flora took him to the back and told him.

I'd never seen Timmy get angry. I'd never even seen him yell, or cry. But on that trip back to Alfea, we were all witnesses to it. It near rivaled Musa's break down; him screaming about how we were wrong and that she was still alive, that he could feel that she was still alive. Helia had to help calm him down.

Some of the other girls went to the back of the ship to have their break downs, but I stayed up with the boys to show that we hadn't fallen apart completely. It wasn't that I didn't want to have a break down; I was too riddled with guilt to have a proper cry.

"You know you're allowed to cry, right?" Riven told me. "No one's going to blame you."

"I know."

Catching the sad lilt in my voice, he decided to drop it and focus on co-steering the ship.

Griselda was just about to raise the barrier for the night when we finally arrived back at Alfea. She looked about ready to grill us for being late, but cut us a break when she saw Tecna wasn't with us. All she said was that we'd discuss it at a later time and let us go.

Musa slammed the door to her room behind her when we reached the common room. I cringed at the loud boom. Music started blaring from inside the room, drowning out any other sound from inside.

"I'll go talk to her," Flora said, quickly following her.

"That's probably a good idea," Layla agreed, tagging along.

The two left us in silence, the only sound being Musa's music.

Stella awkwardly stood in the common room beside me, unsure of what to do. Did we wait? Did we go to bed? Did we sit down?

"Any word on your dad?" I asked her, trying to strike up an off-topic conversation.

She shook her head. "He still just seems to be under the spell Cassandra put him under."

I nodded, remembering her telling me about her father telling her everything that had happened to him at the Princess Ball sometime after I'd left the Eraklyon party. Apparently someone had given Cassandra some insane amount of power to spell Radius into doing everything she wished, but it was fading off on him. The thought of who probably had given her that power had me fuming.

"It's weird," she said, walking towards her room. Stella was never one for standing around doing nothing.

"What's weird?" I asked.

She paused in the open doorway, gripping the frame tightly. "You know how I asked you if we could not get so involved with bloodthirsty criminals?"

Despite her facing away from me, I nodded. "Yeah, I remember that."

She quietly laughed, her knuckles turning white around the door frame. "Guess that's a bit out of the question now, isn't it?"

The door shut behind her, and I couldn't block out the pang in my chest.

I didn't bother waiting any longer for Flora and Layla, collapsing on my bed. Hugging one of the pillows to my chest, I barely noticed Kiko leap up onto the bed, as well.

Tecna was gone.

It felt weird to think it. I was going to wake up tomorrow and not be greeted by the pink-haired, accented, technology fairy I'd been friends with for most of three years. Her side of the room she and Musa had shared was going to be bare, a constant reminder to everyone that she really was gone. That she wasn't coming back, and we would have to learn to deal with the pain and somehow move on.

The Winx Club was back down to five members.

It was an hour before Flora came back in, a defeated look on her face.

"How is she doing?" I asked, quickly sitting up.

"As best as anyone in our situation can, except ten times worse." Flora shrugged, closing the door. "She's angry and completely volatile" Not a surprise. "She keeps trying to make too rash decisions."

"Like what?"

She hesitated, running her fingers through a tangle in her brown hair.

"What was she going to do?" I smirked unhappily. Picking up Kiko, I set him in my lap and began gently petting him. "Jump out the window and go attack Baltor?"

Flora shook her head. "No, that was what Layla was going to do." Go Layla.

Taking a seat on the edge of my bed, she had an uncomfortable look on her face. "I don't think I should say anything, Bloom."

"Just tell me, Flo. It can't be that bad."

Doubt clouded her eyes. Whatever it was, I began to think I wasn't going to like it. "She said she thinks it would be best if we disband the group."

For a split second, I felt as if the world came to a complete stop. "What?"

Flora shut her eyes, not wanting to repeat it. "Musa feels like it's just not the same without Tecna. The Winx Club was the six of us together and now that Tecna's gone . . ."

Despair overwhelmed me. I attempted to grasp what Flora was saying, but I couldn't understand it. We'd been the Winx Club for three years. How could we disband the group now? The group was supposed to symbolize our friendship. What would it mean for us if we split up?

And what about our enemies? Who would take up the fight against the witches? If word were to spread that we weren't in the game anymore, it gave them the perfect opportunity to wreak all kinds of havoc. No one was as strong as us; no one else could be able to take them on. The Magic Dimension would fall apart and crumble on itself if we disbanded. All hell would break loose.

Frustration built in my chest, petting Kiko harder. "Tecna being gone is exactly why we need to keep the group together!" I defended, feeling a spark of anger. "If we fall apart, who's going to fight the witches?"

"It's not the witches we really need to worry about," she reminded me. "It's Baltor."

My eyes shifted to the ground and I paused.

I hadn't even noticed that I left out Baltor.

"I know you want to defeat him, Bloom. We all do." she said, putting a hand on my shoulder. "But, you've seen his power. He released a portal strong enough to destroy realms, blinded Layla, and won't rest till he sees you dead." She hesitated, contemplating her next words. "Maybe it's time we let the proper authorities defend the realms."

My brain dropped the thought of Baltor, switching gears instantly. "You want to disband the group, too?"

"I'm not taking anyone's side, Bloom." Flora assured. "I think we all need to take a few days to clear our heads and then discuss it another time. We don't want to make any rash decisions like that tonight. We're all angry, and no one can make smart decisions when they're angry."

"Flora, we can't break up the group!" I exclaimed, desperation slipping into my voice. "Our lives revolve around being the Winx Club! We _are_ the Winx!"

"It could be time for a change. Besides, even if we do end up disbanding, that doesn't mean we're not going to hang out. All of us will always be friends."

"And what if Faragonda asks us to go help someone or has a mission for us to do? What are we going to say? No, sorry; we have a movie we're going to see in like an hour?" I scoffed, flopping back on the bed. Kiko leaped off the bed the second I let go of him, curling up in his bed to get away from me. "That's just ridiculous!"

She sighed, shaking her head. "Nothing's going to happen right now. For now, just think about it," she said, standing up and walking over to her bed. "And _positively_."

Putting on her pajamas, she gave me a final "Nighty night, Bloom" and went to sleep.

I couldn't fall asleep.

What Musa said endlessly plagued my thoughts. We couldn't break up. There was no way we could break up. It would never happen. We were too close. We'd been through so much together, we'd never think about ending the Winx Club. We'd defeated the witches, destroyed Darkar, saved the water nymphs, saved Magix, escaped from Downland. We'd been through everything. The idea was preposterous.

What worried me was that Flora had subtly agreed with her. And if Flora was considering it, how many of the other girls would consider it?

I glared up at the ceiling, not knowing what to do. I didn't want the group to end for anything in the world. I was heartbroken that Tecna was gone, but that didn't make me want to give up everything we had here.

I wanted to yell. I wanted to scream. I wanted to punch something. Hard.

Maybe Layla's idea was exactly the right approach.

We still had Tecna's barrier buster that she'd made when I was gone to help us get in and out of Alfea after hours. That was the easy part, though. The difficult part would be getting out of the building without alerting anyone.

Waiting for everyone to finally fall asleep was torture. Around midnight, the music from Musa's room died, and all was silent. I remained still for a few minutes after though; just to be sure that no one was up roaming around the common room.

Glancing over at Flora, who appeared to be dead asleep, I put Kiko in his bed and snatched my jacket off the chair to my desk. Throwing on a pair of shoes, I quickly slipped out the door.

Quietly shutting the door behind me, I scanned my eyes across the room. Making my way towards the table by the balcony, I picked up the barrier buster. Turning it over in my hand, I saw Tecna's name perfectly etched into the device.

My vision started to blur with water. I refocused, blinking a few times, and walked out of the dorm.

* * *

"What the hell was that?"

Judging by the look on his face, Baltor had been expecting me for a while. I wasn't sure what kind of reaction I thought he would have, but the dark expression on his face created a lingering thought that I shouldn't have started off this conversation by yelling at him.

He locked the door to the office behind him. "Well, hello to you, too."

I could already feel the anger in me rise. How could he be so incredibly nonchalant? Surely he knew what happened on Tides. He reveled too much in others' misery to not watch his destruction.

"Why?" My voice was oddly confident.

Baltor barely addressed me, walking straight to the desk. I turned around to glare at him as he picked up one of the spell books off of the desk and started flipping through it. Furious, I stomped over next to him and slammed it shut. A small layer of dust floated off the cover. Under my hand, I could just make out the last few letters of RIUM. It didn't look like the kind of book he would typically have in his collection, but I was too pissed to care.

He lifted his head, a look of annoyance on his face.

"_Why_?" I repeated more quietly, teeth clenched.

With a sigh, he pinched the bridge of his nose. He clearly wasn't in the mood for an argument. "I only did what I had to do."

"Making one of my best friends lock herself in a portal forever was something you had to do?" I snapped; eyes wet.

"How was I supposed to know you all were going to try and close it?" Baltor shot back, turning to fully face me. His brow was furrowed, matching my anger. The longer I looked at him, the more I noticed the dark circles around his eyes.

"We're the Winx Club! What did you _think_ we were going to do?"

"I apologize, I thought you all were smart enough to not travel to a realm that was being torn apart."

I dug my nails into the desk, desperately trying to not lose my cool. The familiar throbbing in the back of my head was returning, but I blocked it out.

"Well, you won't have to worry about that much longer, so be happy."

Baltor furrowed his brow. "What are you talking about?"

I debated on whether or not I should elaborate. It was only a trivial topic, but it was enough to bother me. "Musa and the others want to break up."

He went still.

"The girls think it's a good idea to disband the group now that Tecna's gone." I could feel my gaze darken. "I guess I have you to thank for that."

"I didn't force your tech friend to sacrifice herself." Baltor argued, leaning in slightly. "_I_ was trying to destroy a realm."

"Which you shouldn't have been doing in the first place!" I shouted.

"What do you expect me to do, Bloom? I'm the bad guy. If I just stopped my plan to take over the realms because you wanted me to, people would get suspicious, don't you think?"

What he was saying made sense, but I'd be damned if I was going to let him win this argument.

"So to prove you were still a villain you tried to destroy two realms?"

"If you can kill two birds with one stone, I say do it." He opened the book again.

I rolled my eyes. Shaking my head, I tried to make sense of what he was saying. "I thought you wanted to take over the realms, not destroy them all?"

"Omega and Tides would never have succumbed to my rule." he elaborated. "Criminals and bullheaded kings are not exactly the most obedient subjects."

"That is so . . ." I couldn't finish, too enraged by his theory to come up with words. "What is wrong with you?"

It seemed to be yet another day where I was playing the Let's See How Many Times Bloom Can Regret Saying Things game.

Baltor shook his head, removing his gloves. Slowly looking up at me, I saw disbelief in his eyes. "What's wrong with _me_?" he repeated, chuckling to himself. "You shouldn't be asking what's wrong with _me_, darling. You should be asking what's wrong with _you_."

My eyes widened. "Excuse me?"

"I saw you on Tides."

"Yeah, and . . . ?"

"Let me rephrase," he waved his hand over the crystal ball on the desk. Colors started appearing inside the crystal, flashing quickly. "I saw _everything you did_ on Tides."

Taking a closer look, I managed to make out scenes playing out inside it. It looked familiar, but it took me a moment to finally realize what he was showing me.

The Omega Portal rejecting me and Layla.

"Yes, I saw you and your little friend try to _jump into the Omega Portal_." he said, horribly trying to contain his anger. "And almost die."

My heart twisted.

I shouldn't have been surprised. I should've known that Baltor was going to find out somehow. He most likely had had his attention focused on the portal the entire time. He saw what happened to Tecna; it was obvious he'd seen what I did.

My thoughts of feeling like a ragdoll when I was inside the portal looked to be extremely accurate; I actually cringed when I watched our impact as we were tossed out.

"Did you even think before you threw yourself in there?" he asked, angrily. "Of course you didn't. You were too wrapped up in the thought of playing the hero."

"I wasn't going to just stand there and let Tides be destroyed!" I defended. "If I could stop it, I was going to try."

"Tides wasn't yours to save, Bloom!"

"Yes, it was! I wasn't going to sit around while you turned it into the next Sparx!"

I saw his eyes darken drastically, shining red for a moment. "I had nothing to do with its actual destruction, and you know it. You're just being a stubborn, thoughtless, brat who needs someone to lash out at."

"And you're not?" I shot back, holding back what I actually wanted to call him.

"I had to stand here with the witches with a straight face while you nearly killed yourself!"

I bit the inside of my cheek, reminding myself that I was dangerously pushing a line I shouldn't cross.

He took a moment to just stand there, most likely to calm himself down. "Do you know what that felt like?" His voice was low and steady, restraint clear. "Standing here, watching that portal nearly tear you apart? I thought you were dead."

"Why do you care?" I asked, frustrated. "You were going to let all those other people die! Is it our connection or something? Because whether or not I have the Dragon Fire means nothing! What makes me different from any of them?"

"Because it's _you_!" Baltor yelled, slamming his fist on the desk.

I jumped a little; startled by his outburst and by his words.

Clenching and un-clenching his hand on the desk, he faced me again. "You're different from everyone else there because you're you." He dragged a hand down his face. My heart clenched momentarily. "I could watch anyone else jump into that portal a thousand times and not feel a damn thing." he muttered, more calmly. "But the second I heard you say you would go in . . ."

If he was trying to make me feel like shit, he'd succeeded. I was biting the inside of my cheek so hard, I wondered if I'd pierced it.

I knew I should apologize. I didn't want to imagine how he felt, or what it was like for him to watch me jump. It was easy to assume that it hurt. But what made it worse was that the look on his face made me realize that I'd hurt _him_.

But I still didn't regret my choice.

"I know this is the part where we're supposed to forgive each other and hug it out, but I'm not going to lie." I said, my nails digging into my palms. "I'm not sorry."

He gave me a look I couldn't read.

"You can ask me a million times about whether or not I'd change my mind about jumping into the portal." I told him. "But I would still jump in. Because that's what I do; I do dangerous shit every day, and I love it. And I don't do it because I get a high off of being a hero; I do it because I want to let everyone else have the chance that I never got." I saw him tense at the mention of Sparx. "No one was there to save my realm; so I want to be the one to save every other realm. So, no matter what you say, I'm not going to stop throwing myself in dangerous situations. This is me; this is who I am; this is who the _Winx Club _is. And if you don't like it," I uncontrollably hesitated, "you don't have to."

My heart was screaming at me to leap forward into his arms and start crying. Every word that came out of my mouth had my heart bleeding more and more. However, despite how it pained me to say it, I had to. I wasn't going to let someone else try to change who I was; even if it was Baltor.

Embracing every ounce of courage in my body, I walked towards the door to leave, swallowing the hard lump rising in my throat. Each step I took was another stab I felt in my gut.

"The transformation your friends keep earning is called Enchantix."

My hand hovered over the door knob.

"If you're going to insist on being a pain in the ass," Baltor said from behind me, "ask the old woman about it."

I didn't know what to say, or if I should respond at all.

Twisting the door knob, I walked out and shut it. I didn't stop. I didn't teleport. I just walked out of the school, waiting till I reached the woods to finally let the tears I'd been holding back fall.

* * *

"What's Enchantix?"

I saw a glimmer of fear in Ms. Faragonda's eyes, but it disappeared in the next second. "Where did you hear about that?"

The light from the afternoon sun was pouring in through the wall of windows behind the headmistress's desk. The beams of sunlight stung my eyes, and made my headache from lack of sleep ten times worse. I had to squint to see her face. I didn't make it back to the dorm till about three in the morning, staying in the forest for about an hour or two to let everything out. And, if it was even possible, I came back feeling guiltier than I had before I left.

I didn't get back to Alfea till about three in the morning

"That doesn't matter." I said. "What _does _matter is why everyone keeps avoiding telling me what it is. Why does no one want me to know about it?"

She adjusted her rectangular spectacles further up her nose. "It's a very difficult transformation to earn, Bloom."

"Then why have Stella and the others already earned it?"

I'd caught her off-guard. She kept fidgeting with items on the desk –straightening papers, repositioning pens in their holder. "Bloom, I don't believe this is the time for this discussion."

"What's the big deal?" I asked, throwing my hands up in frustration. "Everyone else can know about it but I can't? Why is everyone trying to hide it from me?"

"Because you can't earn it."

I froze. Perplexed, I blinked a few times, and shook my head slightly. "What are you talking about?"

Her expression turned to one of sympathy. "Enchantix is the highest and most powerful transformation that fairies can achieve." she explained. "It is also the most difficult to achieve. The only way a fairy can earn her Enchantix is through self-sacrifice. You must risk your life for someone else in order to gain it." She hesitated. "However, in your situation it is a bit more complicated."

"Why?"

"I don't believe that you are ready to hear –"

"No!" I exclaimed, standing up from my chair. "Stop acting like I'm not ready! I'm sick of people telling me that I'm not ready to hear things! Just tell me!"

She frowned, disapproving of my outburst. "You must risk your life for someone else in order to gain Enchantix." she repeated with a sigh. "Although, it is a strict rule that the one you sacrifice yourself for must be from your home planet."

My heart fell into my stomach. Then my stomach dropped to my feet. And my feet proceeded to feel as if they were falling out from under me.

I was screwed.

Everyone from Sparx was gone. There was no one left. The only two people that remained were Baltor and me, and I wasn't going to throw Baltor in danger just to gain a transformation. That was barbaric.

Collapsing back into my chair, I could feel a lump begin to form in my throat. I was upset, yes, but upset was putting it mildly.

"And we've determined that you gaining your Enchantix is the only resolution to this battle. If you gained your Enchantix, your Dragon Fire abilities would be enough to rival Baltor's."

_You'd tip the balance of this war_.

I shook my head. "Well, that idea's pretty much dead, now isn't it?" I laughed under my breath at the irony.

My eyes met Faragonda's for a moment, but then shot back to them. Focusing harder on them, I could almost see a shadowy purple aura representing nervousness.

"What else are you hiding?"

She folded her hands on her desk, resuming her reluctance. "There may be a way for you to earn your Enchantix."

My heart skipped a beat.

"It's a very dangerous option, and I wouldn't allow it whatsoever unless I was certain this was the only one left for you."

"What is it?" I asked, excitedly. "I'll do it! I'll do anything!"

"We believe that you may be able to _will_ yourself into gaining an Enchantix."

I gave her an odd look. "And this is dangerous?"

"The only place where you could do this is a realm called Pyros." She took a breath, reluctant to finish. "It's also known as the Island of Dragons."

"Let me guess, because there are dragons there?"

"Thousands of them. In the past, Sparx used it as a trading ground for dragons. Since the attack on Sparx, there haven't been any daring enough to try to tame them again to trade. No one who has gone there has lasted more than a day because of how brutal the conditions are. However, with your Dragon Fire, we believe you could survive."

"What all would I have to do?"

"There's a guardian on the realm that can help you earn your Enchantix. She's practiced in the ways of strengthening will power and is an old friend of mine."

Something nagged at the back of my head. "How long will it take?"

Faragonda frowned. "It all depends on how easily you learn her lessons. It could take anywhere from a few days to a few years."

I was instantly reluctant the moment she said 'years.' That was a long time. And if no one else inhabited that island except for the guardian, then I would have practically no communication with anyone. Essentially, I'd be alone. Something I'm never good at.

But how was I supposed to refuse the offer of the only way to earn my Enchantix? How was I supposed to refuse the chance to earn the one thing that could help set me on the path to finding my birth parents? It would be insane of me to not accept the offer.

My mind was racing to think of another way to possibly earn it. There had to be a better way than disappearing for (potentially) years to earn my Enchantix. The Darkness in me landed on thoughts of Baltor again, and how he was from Sparx. I shook those off the second they arrived. As angry as I was with him, I wasn't going to purposely put him in any danger just to be a means to an end.

Going to Pyros was my only option.

"If you do say yes, your leave will be immediate." Faragonda warned. "I'll inform the other girls myself where you are so that they don't believe something terrible happened to you." She acted like she was going to add something else, but then decided against it.

I nodded, continuing to think on it.

_You're really going to leave without saying a word to him?_

I shifted a little, uncomfortable. Baltor would have no idea where I was. The moment I agreed, I'd be leaving. I wouldn't get the chance to tell him I was leaving or to remind him I was still angry with him.

I would just be gone.

With no idea of when I'd be back.

_If_ I'd be back.

He would just have to understand.

I leaned back in the chair and sighed, running a hand through my hair. Looking up at her, I felt calm. "Let's do it."

* * *

_Here, have some angst for your week. Plus, this isn't even the worst fight that's going to come. Something to look forward to. And if you caught the hint at Season 6, you automatically get all the points. Plus, if you noticed, I made Faragonda use the pronoun 'we' instead of 'I.' Why? Because I did it on purpose and for a reason._

_PART ONE IS OFFICIALLY COMPLETED. HELLA. Now we can commence PART TWO. PART TWO is going to be much more fast-paced and all of my ultimate favorite scenes of this fic come to play such as very personal moments between Bloom and Baltor (*ahem*ShadowHaunt*ahem*), a deep conversation about their twisted relationship with a shocking character, two people finding out about them, and the inevitable end of the fic! Those chapters should be coming out much faster than the ones I've been posting._

_Just so everyone is clear, I am, in fact, skipping over the entire Pyros arc. "But Bloom, that's the most major arc for her!" Yes, I am aware of that. I spent two years studying this damn season. Do you honestly think I don't know that? However, I am not going to sit here and reiterate an entire two episode arc that I'm not going to be changing anything to. All I would be adding is making her think about Baltor; nothing else would be changed. Therefore, it is pointless for me to record it. (Although, the chance to eradicate Buddy from ever existing in Winx Club would be my ultimate pleasure and would bring me the greatest of all joys.)_

_And, as you can see, we've reached **100 reviews!** Which is amazing! I want to thank all of you for making this my very first story to reach 100 reviews. I couldn't have done this without any of you, and I love each and every single one of you so much! Even those of you who don't review, you just read it –you all matter, too!_

_Well, I'm gonna go cry in a corner because I graduate in less than a month and I need to work on Staring Endlessly at That Bloom Loser. As always, please leave a review telling me what you liked about this chapter or if you have a guess as to what you think is going to happen in PART TWO and I will be back with an update soon as well as fixing any grammatical errors to this when I get home from work!_

_~Bloom_


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

Three months.

Three months of training on a dragon-infested island with no communication with the outside world.

Needless to say, I needed pizza.

With the rain pelting down on me, I tugged the hood of my jacket further over my head as I trudged down the streets of Magix. I knew I should've been heading towards Alfea to tell the others I was back, but after months of not being able to eat real food, they would just have to understand.

Despite the rain, Magix City was as busy as ever. The sidewalks were packed with people bustling about, carrying shopping bags and dragging kids behind them. It was hectic, but it was enough to let me blend in.

Catching sight of the pizzeria, I quickly ducked inside. Upon entering, I was immediately punched in the face with the smell of tomato sauce and cheese. I would be lying if I said I wasn't ready to cry and hug the pizza guy.

Resisting the urge to crawl on my hands and knees to the counter, I stood there and waited for a worker to show up. I silently hoped he didn't recognize me from the pizza incident with Stella and Chimera. Thinking on that, it seemed like years ago.

I couldn't help but wonder how much had changed while I'd been gone. Three months wasn't too long, but around here, it was long enough for a second war to break out. Everything had been left in disarray when I'd left; and, knowing Magix, it most likely was in even worst shape now.

My mind drifted to Baltor. In the last three months, all I could think about was the fight we'd had. Putting everything in perspective, I had been a little out of line to go off on him like that. However, in my defense, he probably should've expected that kind of reaction, especially from me.

"Baltor's been surprisingly quiet lately."

The sound of his name caught my attention instantly. Glancing to my right, I saw Mirta and Lucy sitting at one of the closer booths, waiting for their order. I was surprised the two were still talking, but I was more focused on what they were saying.

"Good," Lucy's harsh voice spat.

"You don't think it's odd that for the last three months he's pretty much stopped terrorizing everyone?" Mirta asked, shyly.

My stomach fell into an endless void.

Something _had_ changed.

Some_one_ had changed.

"I'm not going to question the rare blessing of silence on this planet." the witch growled. "The last thing we need to do is jinx it."

"But isn't it weird for a bad guy to just vanish like that!"

"No, you want to know what's weird?" Lucy said. "The fact that he only stopped after Bloom left."

A chill wracked my spine that sent me burying my face in my hands.

"How is that weird?"

"Don't play dumb, Mirta. Everyone's heard the rumors going around about Bloom and Baltor."

My attention was grabbed again.

"What are you talking about?"

Lucy sighed.

"You don't mean . . ." There was a pause. "No, Bloom wouldn't do that!"

"Come on, Mirta! It all makes sense! Bloom leaves for that dragon realm; Baltor stops his mission to take over the Magic Dimension. It's so obvious."

"Bloom's not like that, Lucy. You don't know her."

"I bet they've been sleeping together this whole time."

"Lucy!"

"I don't blame her, though. If I had a hot dark wizard chasing me all over the realms, I'd try to shack up with him, too."

"Lucy, she's not like that!"

She shrugged, relaxing back in her spot. "Whatever. Still think she's sleeping with him. Icy used to complain about it all the time whenever we were under Baltor's spell. Every time she'd leave Baltor's office she'd always be muttering about him 'having a boner for that redheaded bitch.' And there's only one redhead that Icy hates that much, and that's Bloom."

My stomach twisted some. Icy was most likely just saying those things as an over-reaction, but I feared if she wasn't saying those things as an over-reaction. I didn't want to see how she would be when she actually found out that Baltor and I were . . . whatever the hell we were.

"Icy's just angry that Baltor's not sleeping with _her_." Mirta excused. "Either way, you'd think at least the Trix would be up to something." A challenging glint appeared in the converted fairy's eyes. "Do you think she's sleeping with them, too?"

Lucy was silent. "Alright, so that theory may have a few holes in it. Nevertheless, I firmly believe he has a thing for her. Maybe that's why he stopped. Since she's off on dragon realm, he's pining over his probably dead love."

I instantly bolted out the door, not caring about the pizza.

* * *

When I'd earned my Enchantix, it was like a reaction occurred. Baltor had been right when he'd said that we had the ability to have a strong connection between us once my powers strengthened. The moment I focused in on him after I'd left the pizzeria, I could sense his presence.

What left me confused was the fact that I was now in the middle of Gloomy Wood in the pouring rain. Baltor had been at Cloud Tower last time I'd seen him. Why was I in the woods? It didn't add up. The only way it made sense was if he'd had to move his hideout from Cloud Tower to somewhere in the woods.

However, that left the big question of where in the woods?

Gloomy Wood was a huge forest. I'd walked through it enough times my freshmen year to know the size of it. There was no way I'd be able to track him down in this place. It was impossible.

Until I saw the random portal appear out of a tree.

_How subtle_, I remarked to myself, ducking behind the nearest tree trunk. Barely peering out, I could just see the three forms of the witches flying out of it towards Magix. I wasn't sure where they were headed, but that wasn't my number one concern.

I was too focused on just how I was going to climb that far up the tree. I'd climbed trees before back in Gardenia, but the trees in Gloomy Wood were considerably taller than those on Earth. Like _a lot_ taller. With barely any sturdy branches. Hell, there barely any branches at all. There was no way in hell I'd be able to make it up there without falling and breaking every bone in my body.

_Or, you know, you could use those fancy magic powers of yours to just teleport_.

I hated when my conscience was more reasonable than I was.

* * *

Despite entering a tree, I emerged in what appeared to be an underground cave. It was surprisingly well-lit and was filled with stacks and stacks of spell books. Clearly, Lucy had been wrong. Baltor hadn't stopped; he'd just gotten sneakier about stealing magic. The amount of magic he'd stolen though was enough to worry me.

The strength of his presence intensified the deeper into the cave I went. It was a maze of twists and turns. How long had this been here? Had it been created upon his arrival, or had it been here all along?

I didn't have to announce myself. The second I walked into the part of the cave he was in, Baltor turned to look at me. I didn't know if it was from our newly activated connection or something else, but when he looked at me, the whole world seemed to stop.

Baltor appeared to be fine. He looked exactly as he had when I'd last seen him. It took me by surprise to see just how normal he seemed to be.

Until I reached his eyes.

There were faint dark circles around his eyes, making him look paler than he already was. It was barely noticeable if you weren't staring at him, but the longer I looked at him, the more prominent they became to me. My heart squeezed tighter.

I wanted to throw my arms around him and beg for forgiveness. I wanted to run over to him and cry about how the entire time I was gone I'd felt nothing but a huge hole in my chest when he crossed my mind, and that I didn't think about anyone else but him.

But I stood there, unmoving in the doorway.

"What do you want for your birthday?"

My brow furrowed, confused. "What?"

"Your birthday." Baltor reiterated, having the same deep tone it always had. "What do you want?"

I blinked a few times, nothing clarified. "What are you talking about? My birthday's in July. That's like four months away."

"And we don't know how many times we'll be able to see each other till then. So, what do you want?"

Immediately, I read between the lines.

Peeling myself off the door frame, I started approaching him. "Look, you don't have to play it off. I already know that you're super pi–"

I didn't get to finish. Once I had reached within arm's length, Baltor pulled me to his chest, putting his arms around me in a possessive grip. I tensed for a moment, unsure of whether or not he was in control, but still returned the hug. Sensing his energy, I felt nothing but pure relief emanating from him. I'd left without a word to go off to a realm where the majority of people die. For the past three months, it was easy to assume that he was wondering whether or not I was dead. Thinking about that constant worry made me clutch onto him tighter.

"I'm sorry."

"You don't need to apologize," Baltor said, resting his chin on top of my head.

"I do need to, though." I insisted. "The whole thing with the Omega Portal, and Tecna, and disappearing for so long–"

"Bloom," he firmly interrupted, silencing me. "You're back; you're safe; everything else doesn't matter."

"I saw your little collection in the entrance," I muttered after a while. "That's a lot of magic."

I felt him shift. "I was keeping myself busy."

We both knew exactly what that meant.

Neither of us said anything else for a few minutes. We simply stood there, leaning against each other in silence. Strangely, it was more comforting than talking.

"I don't think hugging this long is what friends do." I reluctantly pulled back some, keeping a light grip on the lapels of his coat.

"So I'm back to being just a friend?" he asked.

"Back to? Who said you were ever more than that?" I inquired, incredulously.

"Well, if we're going to be specific," he leaned in close to my face. "You did kiss me."

A burning sensation filled my cheeks. He smirked triumphantly at his win.

"Okay, so we're not _friends_." I muttered, bashfully pulling a strand of hair behind my ear.

"If we're not friends, then, pray tell, what would you call us?"

Truthfully, I'd been toying around with what word to use for us while I was gone. There was something between us that was undeniable. Whether it was friendly or more than that, I didn't know. The thought of us actually having a label was silly but made me smile. I don't know what it was, but calling us anything just seemed weird. "Something."

"How enlightening."

Promptly, I smacked his arm. He didn't even flinch.

"How long are the witches going to be gone?" I asked, remembering their departure.

"Not long enough." he said. "They could be back any minute, and we have much to discuss before I'm letting you out of my sight again."

I raised my brow, playfully. "Is that a threat or a promise?"

He shot me a look, but didn't deny either.

Before I knew it, I was back in the familiar pocket realm I'd been introduced to during our first 'talk.' To think of it, I hadn't been back in here since that first discussion we'd had. That was forever ago. It almost felt longer than the pizza incident.

"How was Pyros?"

"Hot as hell and not fun," I laughed, relaxing back in one of the chairs. "I can see why no one wanted to go back there." I paused. "And why so many people don't survive."

"Icy told me you earned your Enchantix." he added. "I'm sure that was an interesting fight."

"Yeah, thanks for that!" I shouted, faking being angry. "If you were that mad at me for leaving, at least give me some warning before you send out three bloodthirsty witches."

"I had to give you some kind of challenge." Baltor said, smirking and pulling up the other chair in front of mine. "Otherwise you never would've come back."

"That's certainly a funny way of showing that you missed me. You know, most people just send a card that says 'Thinking of You' on it."

"What can I say? I like to go the extra mile."

I shook my head. "I'm guessing Darcy told you I was alright?"

"When Icy and Stormy weren't around, yes."

"So you've known I was alive for the past few days?" I asked.

He nodded. "It wasn't that much of a relaxer. On Pyros, a few days could be the difference between being alive and being dead."

I cringed slightly and looked around the dark room, waving away the unwanted thought of me being dead.

"Icy wasn't very thrilled when they returned, though." he said, seeming to catch my discomfort."She called your transformation a 'multi-colored, frilly, short-as-shit dress.'"

"Ouch. Someone's jealous." I laughed, imagining her throwing every cuss word she knew towards me.

His eyes raked over me. "I would much like to see this 'multi-colored, frilly, short-as-shit' dress."

"Negative." I denied him. "I'm not risking you turning into a raging demon."

"Is it that risqué?"

"I want it to be a surprise." I lamely excused. "Besides, when you see it in battle you'll be too focused on what I'm wearing to fight properly so we'll beat you."

"Using your clothes to gain an advantage in battle." He shook his head. "What do they teach you in Alfea?"

"How to win."

Smirking, he leaned forward in his chair. "You still haven't told me what you want for your birthday." Baltor said, drawing circles on my hand.

"I don't want anything," I told him. "It's just a birthday."

"What's one thing you want?"

With a sigh, I moved my eyes over the room, thinking. There wasn't really anything I wanted. Over the years, I'd been so busy I never had time to look around and look at stuff that I wanted. Presents seemed so trivial whenever you were being thrown into life or death situations every day. Material items were of no importance.

As my eyes landed back on him, they immediately latched onto burgundy leather before going back up to meet his.

"Your coat."

Baltor's look of amusement morphed into one disbelief. "Of all the relics and spells I've stolen, you want my coat?"

"Yes! I want to look like a badass! But I know you're attached; therefore, I will never get it." I told him. "So, don't bother trying to get me anything."

The smallest hint of a smirk appeared on his face. "I wouldn't go so far as to say 'never'. One day, possibly."

"Yeah, like that'll ever happen." I snorted, doubtful.

He leaned over in his chair, closer to me. "Or I could just give you an early present that is much better than a ratty coat."

"Oh?"

"Would more information on the location of your birth parents draw your interest?"

My eyes practically bugged out of my head. "You found something?"

His full smirk returned. "I might've heard a thing or two while I was in Cloud Tower. Your friends decided to pay me a little visit after you were gone. It was clearly a strike out of anger, but it didn't matter. I could've defeated them the second they arrived, but it was time to move on from there. I was collecting too much magic, so I let your friends win and went underground.

"Once Griffin was freed from her prison cell and they made sure I was 'gone,' she, Saladin, and Faragonda called a meeting of the Company of Light. I decided to stick around undetected to see what they were discussing. They haven't officially called a meeting since the attack on Sparx. And, of course, I wasn't disappointed. Griffin was worried I'd found Cloud Tower's crypt."

"What's so special about it?" I asked.

"According to them, the crypt is a holding place for dark energy. The energy held there is powerful enough to hold the essences of three certain witches that you and I both share an interest in."

"The Ancestresses."

He nodded. "If we find the crypt, we'll be able to contact them. However, they may be more intrigued of speaking to you than me. There's no way Belladonna would be able to resist talking to you."

Eagerness spread through me. If they were that open to talking to me, I'd be able to ask them whatever I wanted. All of my questions would be answered directly from the source. If anyone would know what happened to Oritel and Miriam, the Ancestresses would.

"How do we find it?" I asked, jumping at the chance.

"I already have informants trying to find the location of it as we speak," he said. "I have magic to steal, and suspicions would be raised if you started poking your nose into information on crypts. Once I have the location I'll send you a signal and we'll go."

Disappointment replaced my eagerness. "Wow that sounds like the worst date ever."

* * *

Alfea was oddly quiet when I arrived. Nothing stirred as I walked past the gates and into the school. I wasn't very surprised, considering it was about an hour till curfew. Most of the girls were too afraid of Griselda to challenge her. Glancing up towards our balcony, I saw a light still on.

Seeing that light made me realize just how much I'd missed my friends. They'd been with me so long; I never understood that one day we'd all separate. After _this year_ we'd be separating. This was our final year, and in a few months, we'd all be going back home. We'd done everything together, and soon, we'd be apart.

It was weird to think it.

It was even weirder to think that when I got back to the dorm, there would be one less friend there to greet me. One less friend I would be graduating with.

The more I thought on it, the more I came to see that maybe what Musa had said was right. She said it would be best to disband the group. By the end of May, we'd have to disband anyway. After graduation, we'd all return to our separate corners of the Magic Dimension, some of us even taking on the roles of full-fledged princesses. We wouldn't have time to get together and take out bad guys on the fly. We'd have too many responsibilities for that.

Disbanding the Winx Club was inevitable, whether it was in honor of Tecna or graduation. We couldn't be the Winx Club forever.

Pulling my hood off my head, I made my way up the staircase towards my dorm. The thought of finally being able to sleep in a bed after three months of sleeping on nothing but dirt made me practically run the rest of the way. Yanking the door to the common room open, I only made it a few feet in. Fury washed over me as I saw a familiar blonde head of hair.

"Why are you here?" I shouted, trying to not lose control.

"Bloom, let me explain." Sky said, standing up from where he'd been sitting. The fact that he'd been sitting in my spot didn't make me any less angry. I had to physically keep myself from snarling at the sight of a silver band around his left ring finger.

"I don't want to talk to you. Where are the girls?"

He hesitated. "They're _out_."

"Where?"

He didn't say anything.

"Sky, where the hell are my friends?" I repeated, not caring how my anger slipped into my voice.

Opening his mouth to speak, he was immediately cut off by the sound of the door creaking open behind me.

"Bloom," a genuinely surprised Faragonda exclaimed upon entering. "Maya didn't tell me you would be back so soon." If I didn't know any better, I could've sworn I heard a frustrated lilt in her tone.

"Where is everyone?" I asked Ms. F, blatantly ignoring Sky.

Her eyebrows knitted together. "What do you mean?"

"Stella and the others," I clarified. "Where are they?"

"Bloom, I don't want you worrying. The last thing we need is for you to be in a panic." She sighed. "But, if you must know, the girls are in the Omega Dimension."

A chill ran through me at the name. "Omega?" I repeated. "Why the hell are they in Omega?"

"Timmy created a device to search for Tecna." Sky said despite my lack of interest towards him. "We told him it was useless." He paused. "Until two days ago."

I furrowed my brow; a substitute for verbally acknowledging him.

"It picked up on a signal," he continued. "From Tecna."

The second the words came out of his mouth, I didn't believe him. I'd seen her disappear into the Omega Portal. There was no way she could've survived that place all by herself. And for three months? How could she have managed to keep herself alive for that long not encased in ice?

"You're lying."

"He's telling the truth, Bloom." Faragonda replied. "I wouldn't have allowed the girls to leave if I'd had any doubts."

I shook my head, still not convinced. "I saw her disappear into the portal, though. Taboc said there was no way to get her back."

"Taboc was wrong." she said.

The idea was far-fetched. For all we knew, it might not have been Tecna. What if it was someone else? What if it was a criminal who had broken free? Or worse, a group of criminals who were going to ambush the others when they arrived?

I wasn't going to get a moment's peace around here.

"I have to go," I decided. "I have to go to Omega."

"I suspected as much," Faragonda said. "Which is why I asked Sky to be your escort."

I shot her a wild look. "You're joking, right?"

"I'm the only senior left at Red Fountain who's authorized to fly the ships." Sky argued. "I know you're not happy to see me right now, Bloom, but I'm your only chance of getting to Omega."

That wasn't exactly true. I could've made my way back through the forest to Baltor and asked him to take me there. However, that would raise far too many questions that I was in no mood to confront tonight.

Sighing, I folded my arms across my chest. "Fine."

It took every ounce of power in me to not slam my head against the wall.

* * *

_No, I am not dead. I'm just dead inside._

_AND PART TWO COMMENCES!_

_To begin, ah, yes, subtle lesbianism. If you know me, or have listened to the podcast, you know that I am a supporter of the crackship MirtaxLucy; therefore, in this story they will be a thing. They won't be very prominent characters, but I couldn't help but put them in. Also, yes, I am very aware that Bloom's birthday is in December and not July, but, honestly, are you that surprised that I'm screwing around with canon? Look at this story. Are you _really_ that damn surprised? Besides, it's a major plot point that will play a big part in the epilogue so shut up and get over it. Plus, shady Faragonda being shady will be shadier in future chapters._

_And before everyone starts flipping shit and screaming at me in the reviews, yes, Baltor was able to hug her in this chapter (#firsthugfeels). Why? Because it wasn't a romantic hug. It was a hug of relief that she was alive. Oddly enough, being in a relationship doesn't always mean you want to bang each other. Apparently you can care about your partner's well being instead. Quite shocking, I know._

_I am trying to get these updates out, I swear I am. However, with just recently graduating high school and diving headfirst into the workforce, I'm pretty busy. It's really throwing me for a loop with my personal issues. Hopefully things will die down very soon; although, I really wanted to get this chapter out for you guys. I know I've made you all wait long enough for Part Two to begin, and I'm sorry for that. In the next chapter, we get a HUGE, detailed look on the future of Bloom and Sky's break up and possible friendship(?)._

_Until then, as always, please leave a review telling me whether or not you liked this chapter and I will give you all an update on everything as soon as I possibly can! And, like I normally do, if there are any grammar mistakes in this chapter, I will give it a millionth check when I get home from work tomorrow._

_~Bloom_


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

Sky and I didn't speak as we boarded the hovercraft. Whether he didn't speak out of respect of my hatred for him or because he just didn't have anything to say, I didn't know. Either way, I was happy about it.

Unfortunately, since no one else was there to co-pilot, I was forced to take the seat next to him in case he needed me to help. I wasn't sure what help I would be since I had no previous experience in flying one of these things whatsoever. But, I didn't have much of a choice. It was either attempt to help fix a possible malfunction or crash and die. Neither sounded good; however, I did happen to value my life a little more.

Ironically, the more I thought about it, I came to realize that the last time I'd been on a hovercraft was when we were all headed to Sky's party all those months ago. The memory made me glance over him at the ring on his hand. So many things had changed since then.

I couldn't stop myself from rolling my eyes as I heard the familiar sound of Sky awkwardly clearing his throat to speak.

"So, I heard you've been on Pyros for the past few months." he said, stuttering. "That's the Island of Dragons, right?"

I continued my silence, unmoving from my slumped position.

"I remember Codatorta teaching us something about it in our Dragon Wrangling course at Red Fountain sophomore year." he persisted. "He said there's hundreds of thousands of dragons inhabiting –"

"Sky, we are on a no-talking basis since your party." I interrupted, crossing my arms. "Just because we are stuck on the same hovercraft together changes nothing."

He frowned. "Well, it's going to take a while to reach Omega so we might as well talk."

Shooting him a short glare, I switched my gaze to the expanse of blackness out the window. "There's nothing to talk about."

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him give me a dark, knowing look. "I think we both know that's a lie."

I refused to respond.

"We never talked about what happened that night. We never talked about what happened between _us_, Bloom."

"What's left for us to talk about?" I snapped, feeling a spark of anger while I kicked my feet up onto the dashboard. "You said enough for both of us."

A green light suddenly appeared on the dashboard next to my propped up feet. I internally cursed as I read the small white letters within the light: AUTO-PILOT.

Spinning his chair to face me, I could almost feel the frustration radiating off of Sky. "I understand that you're angry, Bloom. I think we all understand that. But whether or not you want to admit it, you never gave me the chance to explain myself."

Meeting his gaze, I glowered at him. "I think announcing to the world that you're madly in love with your ex-fianceé and then marrying her is pretty self-explanatory."

He clenched and unclenched his left hand. The ring on it immediately became more prominent. I wondered if he actually thought I wouldn't notice it.

"But, no, please do enlighten me."

"I love you, Bloom."

I froze, a stunned expression breaking my face.

_Oh no, not this again._

"What did you say?" I asked.

"I said, I love you, Bloom." Sky repeated, firmly. "I always have, and I always will."

I didn't know what to say. Ws there something specific you were supposed to say when your ex-boyfriend who's married tells you he loves you still? How many times can one man change his mind?

A sudden fear washed over me at the thought of him loving me again. If he was going to start pining over me again, the whatever-it-was I had with Baltor would be in total jeopardy. If he started snooping, we could be discovered and a whole new world of fresh hell would be revealed.

"But I love Diaspro more."

An air of awkward silence appeared. An odd sense of tension and relief intermingled with it, leaving us at what could be described as a standstill.

"Oh," I simply said, unable to deny the slight sting of jealousy I felt.

"Believe me, Bloom, I will love you every day and every night till the Magic Dimension explodes and we all burn to ash. Maybe even after that." He paused. "But, I'm _in_ love with Diaspro. I've always been in love with her, and that's why I did what I did. Hiding my true feelings was unfair to you."

I shifted, not particularly thrilled. "You still could've let me down in a better way."

He nodded, laughing a bit. "Yes, I definitely could have. I'll try to remember that the next time Diaspro slips me a potion."

My feet slid off the dashboard. The stare I gave him was blank, my mind racing to process his words. "She slipped you a potion?" An image of the two of them drinking at the Millennium Party came to mind. "You're under a spell right now?" My voice grew louder the more I blamed myself for not realizing it earlier.

"Calm down! It's not what you're thinking!" Sky said, catching my angry tone. "Yes, she gave me a potion, but it only made me reveal who I was truly in love with. That's it. To be honest, I'm kind of relieved she did. I finally felt free after it."

I frowned my brow. "How did she even get something like that?" Truth potions were some of the strongest in the dimension, and completely off-limits to anyone who didn't work for the Magic Council. It would be impossible for her to get it, no matter her royal status.

An uncomfortable expression crossed his face. "Uh, I don't know."

Honing in on my Dragon Fire, I shifted my eyes up to see a dark blue aura appear from Sky, looking almost more uncomfortable than him. "You know I can tell you're lying, right?" I reminded him.

"I'm just not sure I should say anything."

"Come on, Sky, it can't be _that_ bad. Who gave it to her? Your mom? Did she really hate me that much?"

Taking a quiet breath, he looked steadily in my eyes. "Baltor." he said. "Baltor gave her the potion."

Unintentionally, my jaw dropped. A furious fire kindled in my chest. Baltor had been the reason my relationship with Sky ended. _There's no rush in making a decision right now, precious. Besides, certain future events may help decide for you_. That's what he'd meant. He'd been planning this since that day we met in his hideout on Tides. Maybe even earlier than that. Had he been planning this since he met me?

"Don't be mad!" Sky said, seeing me start to shake. "Actually, I'm glad he did it."

My eyes widened in disbelief.

"I know he's done really shitty things to you in the past, Bloom. And I know you despise every inch of his soul. But, if we weren't at war with him, I'd thank him."

_Well, you're just full of surprises today, aren't you?_

"You'd thank him?" I inquired, curiously.

"Yeah, I mean, what he did forced me to come to terms with my feelings. I could finally stop hurting everyone with my indecision. And, now, look at us. I'm happy, and you seemed happy before you saw me earlier. I think it was for the best."

I shrugged, still unsettled that Baltor had meddled in my previous relationship.

"Are you?"

"Am I what?"

"Happy," Sky replied.

With a small smile, I thought back to the one-on-one conversation I'd had with Baltor. It hadn't truly dawned on me how I felt around him. It was a feeling I hadn't experienced since before the Shadow Haunt incident. "Yeah," I quietly told him. "I think I am."

He nodded. "Good." Sky relaxed back in his chair some with a sigh. "And you already know about me and Diaspro. So how about you? Have you met someone else?"

My heart lurched in my chest. What was I supposed to say? Was there a correct answer to a question like that in my predicament? Should I even say anything?

Then again, the more I thought about it, the more Sky seemed to be the perfect candidate. Sure, we were exes, but in this situation, that was ideal. He knew me better than most of my friends, and would honestly call me out on things. He could give me an outsider's perspective on whatever I had with Baltor.

"Yeah, I have." I confirmed, purposely leaving out his name.

Sky smirked, giving me a look. "Oh, you have?"

"Yes, I have, and I would appreciate it if you wouldn't say anything to any of the girls. If Stella found out that I was sorta-kinda dating a guy out of her jurisdiction, she would freak."

He raised his right hand up in a silent swear. "Trust me, I know. So you met him on your own? Stella didn't force you into one of her infamous blind dates?"

I laughed, remembering how she'd set Musa up on a blind date during our second year. I don't think there was any other moment in our friendship that was tenser than the week after that date. "No, it was definitely not one of those."

"Tell me about him."

My brow shot up to my hairline. "You, my ex-boyfriend, want to hear about my now sorta-kinda boyfriend? Doesn't that go against every rule in the book?"

"If you're hiding it from the other girls then you've got to be dying to tell someone about him." Sky said, leaning forward and resting his elbows on his knees. "I'm not bitter about it, Bloom. I was hoping you would move on. I just want you to be happy. I want us to get back to how we were when we first met and we were friends. I still want to be able to talk to you, and be able to hang out with the others without feeling awkward."

I was hesitant, my thoughts trailing back to before we started dating, when I'd first seen him in my backyard on Gardenia. It felt like it'd happened only a week ago.

"He's . . . a _guy_."

He whistled. "Wow, that's very descriptive."

I punched him in the arm.

"Come on, that's all you're going to tell me? Surely there's more to this guy than him being 'a guy'."

I shifted in my seat, trying to quickly determine what all I should divulge. "He's a wizard."

Sky nodded. "Alright, that's a start. It's a small one, but it's a start. What do you two do?"

"We just hang out, I guess. I go to his place and we just talk. It's nice."

"You've been dating this guy for a few months and you're already staying at his place?" he asked, surprised. "Damn, you two have got it bad."

"Not like that!" I yelled. "We've only kissed one time."

He froze. "You two have only kissed _once_?"

I shook my head. "It's complicated."

"Sounds like it. But, I mean, if you're cool with it."

I bit my lip, and averted my gaze back down to my bracelet. "Not really."

Sky caught the bitter lilt in my voice and his brow furrowed in concern. "If you're not happy with it then you need to tell him so you two can work it out."

"It's not that easy."

"Why not?"

I shifted, rushing to think of some kind of excuse. "It's really not worth going into." I said. "He was cursed a few years ago by some witches, it's affecting whatever-it-is-we-have now, and that's all there really is to say about it."

He paused, trying to figure out what I was saying.

"But now, since it's affecting that, we've been trying to break it and we're coming up with nothing."

Beginning to comprehend, he solemnly nodded. "Is that one of the reasons why you went to Pyros? To become powerful enough to try and break the curse?"

I had multiple reasons for wanting to go to Pyros. To gain more power to find my birth parents, to become stronger, to get a distraction. However, breaking the curse on Baltor had surprisingly become the most prominent aspect. With the Fairy Dust that seemed to come with the transformation, I could have enough power to break it. To my dismay, that probably wasn't going to get me out of having to dabble in some dark magic like Baltor had suggested to make it work. But, hey, a girl can dream.

I nodded, a blush rising to my cheeks. "Is that selfish of me?"

"Bloom, you're trying to save this guy from a hellish curse." Sky said, placing a comforting hand on my shoulder. "That's probably one of the most selfless things you could do; and he should be lucky that he has you."

"Do you mean that?"

"Every word."

To say that I was surprised was an understatement. I wasn't expecting Sky to be this easy to talk to. I figured that could've been partially due to him being so easy to talk to back when we were dating, and even before that. However, he knew I was still bitter about the whole Diaspro thing, and he continued to be this open to talking to me about my own problems. Of course, he probably wouldn't be if he knew just who I was talking about, but he was still that open to talking about it. It was . . . _nice_.

He waved his hand in a beckoning fashion. "Come on."

"Come on?"

He gave me a look. "Bloom, I dated you for nearly three years. I know that when you like a guy, there's a lot more that you have to say about him than that."

I blushed harder, thinking about Baltor more.

There was a ton of things I wanted to talk about. To be frank, I could talk about the conversations he and I had for hours. However, that was pushing into territory that couldn't be crossed around Sky.

Relaxing back in my seat, I contemplated telling Sky more. Letting him into that part of my life made me reluctant. It was going to test just how much I could say and not say. And there was no option of slipping up. One slip up could ruin everything.

"Have you two said the infamous phrase?"

"There's an infamous phrase?" I asked, curiously.

"The one that includes the l-word."

Butterflies fluttered around in my chest. Baltor and I had never even approached that word. I'd barely even thought about it. I knew I felt something towards him, but would I go as far as to say that I . . . _l-word _him? "No, we haven't."

"Do you want to?"

I was hit with confliction. "I don't know."

To be frank, the thought that I might actually be in . . . _l-word_ with Baltor terrified me. That was a very serious thing, and I'd only felt emotions like that around Sky a long time ago. But, what was worse was that I felt those kinds of emotions around Baltor except more intensely. Whatever it was I had with Baltor was on a whole other level than what I'd had with Sky.

And it definitely shouldn't be.

The possibility of us being in _l-word_ could not happen. We could never actually be together. In order for that idea to even be tangible, the curse would have to be broken, we couldn't be mortal enemies to the public, and all of his charges would have to be wiped from the ledger. There were too many complications for us to be . . . _real_.

Seeing that he'd hit a rather sensitive issue, he moved on. Unfortunately, he moved on to an even more sensitive topic. "Does he know about the Shadow Haunt thing yet?"

I shook my head, darkly laughing. "Hell no."

"Are you going to tell him?"

Shrugging, I picked at a string on my skirt. "I don't know. Maybe." I doubted it.

"You feel like this relationship is serious enough for a maybe?"

I shot him a look he knew all too well. "_Maybe_."

"Okay, Miss Smartass," he chuckled. "But I'm serious. Finally talking about the Shadow Haunt and opening up to someone might make you feel better."

It peeved me off a bit that he was suddenly okay with me having issues about the Shadow Haunt ordeal. "Can we move on, please? And it's _not_ a relationship. It's just something."

"Alright, alright," he obliged, rolling his eyes. "You said you two have kissed once. Surely that's something to discuss. Did you like it? Is he a bad kisser?"

"No, he is not a bad kisser." I said, kicking my feet up again onto one of the dead monitors. I wasn't sure just how to avoid delving into the subject. The last thing I needed was a slip up of me mentioning what happened when we kissed, and Sky would be turning the ship around faster than lightning. "In fact, that was the best kiss I've ever had in my entire life."

"Even with me?"

"Especially with you."

"Ouch. Stone cold." he laughed, shaking his head. "Have you two done anything else?"

Confused, I peeked over at him.

"You know, since you two can't kiss, have you all . . . ?"

"Are you asking what I think you're asking?"

"It's a perfectly reasonable question."

"You're disgusting!"

"I just know that you don't have a lot of experience with guys." he elaborated, carefully. "If he's trying to pressure you into doing other things that you're not comfortable with, you don't have to do them."

Against my will, I could feel my cheeks begin to burn. "I'm not an idiot, Sky."

"I know you're not. You're one of the smartest girls I know. And I'd like to consider myself a smart guy, because I know you're avoiding answering my question."

I glared at him. "No, Sky, we haven't done anything like that. Any type of passionate act is off-limits due to the curse. And even if we had, I wouldn't tell _you_ about it."

He smirked. "Do you_ want_ to do stuff with him?"

"I _will_ kill you."

He opened his mouth to speak when a light flashed on the dashboard, followed by a beeping sound. Pressing a few things on the screen, I saw his face become serious and he sighed. "Well, it seems you get out of my interrogation early."

"Why?" I asked, trying to figure out what he was doing. "What's going on?"

He motioned to the window. My gaze switched to the direction he was pointing in, and my jaw dropped.

The realm of Omega was just as huge and ominous as Baltor had told me. I'd seen plenty of large planets before, but this put all of the others to shame. The sight of the icy realm ironically sent chills through my body.

"So, Stella and the others are in there?" I asked, swallowing the fear in my throat.

Sky nodded. "Yeah."

I contemplated my next question before asking it. "Do you think they're okay?"

He didn't speak for a moment, worrying me. "Honestly, Bloom," he said, "I have no idea."

Entering the atmosphere of Omega, you could feel the temperature drop several degrees instantly. I threw up a heat shield around us to try and block it out, but even that barely did anything. If it could chill Dragon Fire, I didn't want to think about its potential.

My stomach dropped as we landed next to what looked like Timmy's hovercraft. It was open, like they didn't have time to close anything.

"Maybe they were just in a hurry to reach Tecna," Sky suggested, always the optimist.

"Or they were ambushed."

He didn't deny it.

Bringing the hovercraft to a completely halt, we both sat there in silence. We both knew what we were thinking. We were either going to go out there and come back with our friends, or we were going to go out there and not come back with anyone. And with how many bloodthirsty criminals had been locked up here, the second option was dangerously likely.

"Are you ready to go out there?" Sky asked. I was able to see his breath in the cold air.

I shook my head, my expression hopefully steady. "No," I told him. I wasn't ready for all the horrible possibilities that loomed before us. I wasn't ready to possibly see my friends massacred across the ice and snow. I wasn't ready to possibly join them if things went extremely unexpected. I wasn't ready for any of it. "But I don't really have much a choice."

* * *

_I'm back much sooner than I was expecting to be. Like damn. This is like within two weeks. I'm pretty sure that's a record for me. Don't expect this all the time. Don't get used to this. _

_So, yes, here we are! This is a shorter chapter, but essential for relationship-building. I didn't want to just toss Sky to the wolves and be like, "Bye, bitch, see ya later!" since he and Bloom broke up, which unfortunately tends to happen a lot in Sparxshipping stories (which I'm guilty of doing in the past). But, I wanted to remedy that, so here we are! Sky won't be showing up much more in future chapters, sadly, but we will get a little more of him in the sequel, so for all of you Sky-lovers, I promise you he will be back. In this chapter, I also really wanted to focus on Bloom and Sky's relationship in season one. Everyone seems to forget how chill of friends they were back then before they were dating, and now in future seasons, that chill-ness seems to be completely dead and has been replaced with strict lovey-dovey bullshit. And I'm not here for that. I'm here for them being real people and not just a couple in a relationship used for a dramatic love triangle. _

_Alright, now in the next chapter, we are only one chapter away from the huge reveal of the Shadow Haunt incident! I'M SO EXCITED. I've been waiting for this time since this story started in September. I am freaking psyched. Like I've said before, the Shadow Haunt thing is a key point in this for Bloom, and what you think you know from the series is not exactly what happens here. In Chapter 16, it gives a reason for almost everything that happens in the episode that Bloom turns dark, such as why she's gagged at one point, and why the witches are in Magix and not in Shadow Haunt with Darkar. So, just a pre-warning, it will get dark, and there will be trigger warnings at the beginning of the chapter for those of you who are not comfortable reading things like that. It doesn't go too in-depth, but I will still put them there just in case._

_Anyway, I am going to get to work on finishing up the next two chapters for you guys, and a few drabbles for Staring Endlessly at That Bloom Loser, along with going back through the last few chapters and finally getting to editing some errors I missed before posting! As always, please leave a review if you liked this chapter and I will see you all in the next chapter!_

_~Bloom_


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

We found Tecna and the others about two hours into our search. Oddly enough, Tecna was in a much better position than everyone else. She'd been using her magic to survive off the land, looking relatively fine –like she hadn't been dragged into an icy hell pit. On the other hand, Stella and the others had been trapped in a chasm with an ice snake, and the boys were being held captive in a cave by a gang of criminals who had broken free of their cells.

Needless to say, it wasn't a very fun search-and-rescue mission.

After flying back to Alfea, we spent the next few days recuperating. And while the other girls slept, I snuck out to have a very heated conversation with Baltor about the Millennium party. He tried to deny it at first until I let on that Diaspro had spilled everything to Sky. I should've been absolutely furious with him, but I couldn't get Sky's words out of my head about how he'd thank Baltor if circumstances weren't what they were. Plus, I couldn't say I was unhappy with how things turned out. It took a few hours, but I eventually forgave him.

I didn't go back there till about a week later. Catching up on three month's worth of school work was a hellish world I never wanted to experience ever again. Luckily, the professors were a bit lenient with me thanks to Ms. F. However, even after that week, I was still stuck in a homework hole with no chance getting out any time soon. But I'd be damned if I was going to sit there another day staring at paper upon paper upon five other freaking essays.

I'd timed it perfectly on accident. The other girls had gone out to meet with the guys while I stayed home at the dorm to finish up my late work. Sneaking out for a night to hang out with Baltor wasn't going to hurt anything.

My suspicion was on high alert the second I walked into the hideout. Baltor practically jumped out of his seat to greet me the moment I showed up.

"You're being overly chipper. What's up with you?" I asked, looking around to double check and make sure the witches weren't around.

"I can't say hello to you?" he replied, brushing a piece of my hair off my shoulder.

"Not with that look on your face. You look like a five year old waking up on Christmas morning." I narrowed my eyes. "What do you want?"

"What makes you think I want something?" he challenged.

I shot him a doubtful look. _You're really going to try and bullshit me like that?_

His pleasant expression immediately died. "Alright, I may want something."

_This is going to be interesting._

"Please do tell."

Baltor started to hesitate, contemplating his words. "I was curious to see how open you are now to doing that thing we talked about a few months back."

My look switched to a blank stare. "Um, are you talking about that one thing we vowed to never speak about again? Because, I didn't mean it literally; I was kidding."

"The thing where I would teach you how to control dark magic."

My face fell. That was almost worse.

I'd almost completely forgotten about that with how busy I'd been lately. Just hearing it, I was reminded how incredibly wary I was about learning dark magic. The possible outcome left me in fear. The last thing I wanted was to bring _her _out in front of Baltor. I wanted to avoid that as much as I could, and so far I'd lucked out that Darcy had surprisingly kept to her word.

But then again, I couldn't avoid testing out what I could do with dark magic. If I could maneuver my way past _her,_ I could help break the curse on Baltor and find out where my parents are. It could open up so many doors for me and could shed some light on my potential that Baltor kept referring to.

Then again, it could still also backfire in my face.

"That is, unless you've changed your mind."

I shook my head, jerking myself out of my thoughts. "No, I'm fine. Let's go do this thing."

* * *

"This is anything but smart."

Baltor chuckled from behind me, reaffirming his grip on my waist. "You'll be fine. It's nothing serious."

"You're trying to get me to do dark magic. If that's not serious, I don't know what is."

"We're not starting out with anything serious," he said, sensing my discomfort. "It's not as if I'm going to teach you how to summon a demon from Limbo."

"_Yet_."

He gave me a look, but I shot him one back, both of us knowing I was right.

"You're going to be an annoyance to me, aren't you?"

"Only because it's you," I smirked, keeping my head tilted back to look at him. "So if we're not summoning demons from Hell, what are we doing?"

"One of the simplest spells that a dark magic user can learn," he replied. "You're going to make a doppelganger."

My brow instantly furrowed. "Isn't that just the fancy name for a twin? If you're trying to get me to help you fulfill some disgusting, weird fetish of yours, I want no part –"

"That's not what it's for!" Baltor sighed, already a bit frustrated with me. "A doppelganger is _like_ a twin," he continued, "but not an exact twin. You two may look and talk alike, but you'll have contrasting personalities. You two will share everything except for that."

I remembered the first time I'd met the witches, and how Darcy had been able to replicate herself to find me hiding behind the trash cans in the alley in Magix freshmen year. I supposed it was similar to that, other than that Darcy's acted like her. "She already sounds unpleasant."

"Probably because she will be." he confirmed. "However, you will be able to control her. So as long as you remain focused on what you're doing, everything should go smoothly."

"This is going to go so bad," I muttered, bringing my head back down to look in front of me. "And why are you holding me like that? You know, student-teacher relationships are frowned upon in society."

He instantly let me go. "I apologize; I didn't realize your goal was to crash into the wall if you lost control and not have someone there to keep that from happening. My mistake."

It was my turn to roll my eyes. "Can we please just get started?"

Even though I couldn't see him, I could feel his eyes on me, essentially studying me. Surprisingly, he didn't reply to my quip.

"Focus on the darkest memory you have," he said. "It doesn't matter what it is, just focus on it. Picture it like it's happening right in front of you."

Searching my mind, I tried to focus on the student exchange program I went through during sophomore year. I could vividly remember creating a ball of dark energy for one of the exercises Griffin had us do, and mine ending up containing an insane amount of dark energy, darker than any other witch Griffin had ever seen.

"Nothing's happening." Baltor told me. "Surely you have something darker than whatever you're thinking. Everyone experiences darkness at one point in their lives."

I flinched, an unwanted scream echoing in my head.

"That one."

My eyes flew open. "No."

"You're not going to get anywhere with this unless you focus on that one."

"There has to be another one." I whispered, more to myself than him. "There's got to be another one."

Memories flooded through my mind, but none of them were any good. All I had left were the painful recollections of Shadow Haunt. My heart sped up a bit in my chest, my mind being able to perfectly replicate how it felt to be tied down to that table. The cold, rusted chains on my wrists and ankles; the metal gag that tasted like blood; Darkar's skeletal fingers stroking my cheek; Icy's bloodshot eyes wildly glaring into mine as she . . .

I frantically looked around the room, breaths quick and heavy. My heart was slamming in my chest, skipping a beat every now and then. I felt lightheaded, like I was soon going to pass out if I continued on like this. I dug my fingers into my head, unable to fight the burning pain that seared through my veins.

_Get it together_, I shouted in my head. _You can't let this happen here. You can't let Baltor see her._

_ Unless he already knows about her._

That thought nearly sent me into a different panic. I hadn't really thought about it, but I'd only asked Darcy to not say anything to him about the Shadow Haunt thing. I didn't know about the others. They could've spilled it months ago. And with how Icy loved to gloat about her accomplishments, there was a great possibility that he knew and he just wasn't saying anything.

"Bloom –"

The second Baltor touched my arm a dark purple shield erupted from me, knocking everything around me to the ground, destroying some things on contact. Baltor stumbled back a couple of feet, but it didn't seem to hurt him whatsoever.

Closing my eyes, I focused on beating down the memories of Shadow Haunt. I tried to imagine balling them all up and tossing them out, but the more I tried to get rid of them, the more prominent they became. They were overwhelming, forcing me back into Shadow Haunt, back onto that godforsaken table. The intensity of my trembling tripled, recalling the sight of dark red blood staining my shirt and the pain that lingered in my chest for months.

Against my own will, my mouth opened to release a loud, piercing scream. It wasn't a scream from now; but a scream from when I was turned. It was an elongated version, holding enough power to make a powerful wind form around me, wildly whipping my hair in my face.

And then it all stopped.

The wind screeched to a halt. My heart beat normally. My breaths slowed. Silence replaced my scream. It was over.

From the lack of proper oxygen, my legs gave out on me, sending me crashing to the floor. Baltor appeared out of nowhere, taking most of the brunt of my fall as he caught me. I leaned into his chest, tiredly using him as a support to keep up on my feet. Glancing up at him, I noticed Baltor wasn't looking down at me. He was looking behind me.

Clutching onto his jacket, I weakly turned around to see what he was looking at.

I wanted to vomit.

The temperature of the room seemed to drop several degrees when our eyes met. Her gaze sent ice through my veins, chilling me to the bone. I could tell she was fully aware of who I was, and our past together. Her gold, cat-like eyes seared into mine, ready to tear me to shreds. She was wearing what she had worn the last time I'd encountered her, except ripped and torn in a few places. She looked like hell.

I went to take a step back, but Baltor's hand tightening around my waist brought me to a halt.

"Long time no see, sis!" she greeted in an overly cheery way. "How's the outside been?"

Hearing my voice come out of her, I almost collapsed again.

"What?" she asked, slowly approaching me. "No 'hello' or 'nice to see you again?'" I pressed more into Baltor's side. She wasn't like this before. She was never pleasant, and the underlying iciness in her tone gave it away.

"How did you get here?" I managed to stutter out, my terror unwavering.

"You brought me here!" she answered, stopping only a few inches away from us. "You made a doppelganger, remember?" Her face immediately dropped into one of dead fury. "Guess who your doppelganger is?" With barely a flick of her wrist, Baltor was pulled away from me and thrown to the side. I went to reach for him but, I was suddenly shoved up against the farthest wall. The impact was enough to knock the breath out of me. I nearly fell back to the floor, but her hand was around my neck in the same second, nails digging into my skin. "And guess which doppelganger is ready to finish tearing your essence to shreds?"

I tried to claw at her hand, but the more I struggled the tighter her grip became. I was barely putting up much of a fight. Fear overwhelmed me to the point where all I could do was remain frozen and look at her. I'd never had a reoccurrence of becoming her since the Shadow Haunt incident, and I always thought that if I ever saw _her_ again, I would be stronger by the time that happened (or she would hopefully never come back at all). But she was here, pinning me to the wall with her bare hands, dead set on murdering me.

"What's wrong, sis?" she asked, noticing my silence. "Do you remember the last time we were together? How I was _this_ close to destroying you while we were in Realix? And no one knew. No one would've known." Her eyes seemed to glaze over for a moment, almost in a dream-like state. Catching herself, she snapped out of it. "But then your precious prince came to save your pathetic self and ruined everything. Well, guess what? Pretty boy isn't here now. And I'm going to finally get what I've always wanted." Dangerously, she glanced down at my shirt then back up to me, an evil grin settling into her features. "I specifically remember Icy trying to cut you open before I arrived. Let's start there, shall we?"

She didn't get further than that. Before she could strike, an invisible force threw her across the cavern, knocking her into one of the stacks of books. The moment her hand left my throat, Baltor protectively pulled me behind him.

Rage was clear in her voice as she yelled in frustration. Looking across the room, I saw her rise from the pile of fallen books, using a silent spell to shove them off of her. Her eyes immediately shot to Baltor, fire burning in them. "Back. Off."

"Do you think meaningless threats from a little girl are going to hinder me?" he inquired.

"Do you think you can actually hurt me, _pet_?" she threw back.

That notion seemed to make Baltor more cautious, and not to mention freak the hell out of me. She shouldn't have a clue who he was. "Who are you?"

"Don't act like you don't remember me, Baltor."

That caught my attention.

"We both know that what the Ancestresses prophesized is bound to happen." She smirked, glancing at me.

"How do you know the Ancestresses?"

"Because," her eyes met mine again and remained there. Her lips turned up in a vicious grin, and she laughed. "I am and am going to be your worst nightmare."

Baltor released the fireball in his hand, directing straight at her.

She was still laughing as she disappeared.

The moment she was gone, we were plunged into total silence. I was frozen in place, too stunned to blink. I heard Baltor say something, but I was too out of it to deduce just what he said.

She was there. Not two feet away from me.

My stomach churned. If I was able to make her appear, that meant there was a way she could come back. She could take me over again.

Or she could get out.

None of what she'd said made sense. How did she know Baltor? How did she know the Ancestresses? How did she know anything other than what she'd been restricted to during the measly day and a half she existed?

Nothing haunted me more than what she'd said to me though. _I am and am going to be your worst nightmare._ What did it mean?

I nearly jumped out of my skin, feeling a hand slide onto my shoulder. I quickly spun around, balling my hand into a fist, only to find Baltor standing there with concern in his eyes.

"What was that?" he asked, sounding like he was repeating it.

I didn't say anything.

"Bloom, what the hell was that?"

"Nothing," I finally managed to mutter out, pulling away from him.

He grabbed my arm again, gently turning me back to face him. "That wasn't nothing; who was she?"

"It wasn't anybody!" I exclaimed, desperate to end the conversation. "It was a doppelganger, like you said!"

"You're supposed to be able to control your doppelganger, Bloom. Now, who was she?"

I could feel the beginnings of tears prick my eyes, and I immediately looked at the ground. "It doesn't matter. She's gone now."

Baltor took me by the arms, forcing me to look up at him. "When someone leaves you like _this_," he said, his voice serious, "it matters."

"She doesn't matter," I said again. "Everything about Shadow Haunt doesn't matter."

Baltor's eyes immediately widened a bit, anger flaring up in them. "Shadow Haunt? That's what happened? They tortured you _with_ you?"

"No! Don't act like you don't know!" I shouted, not bothering to keep the tears at bay anymore. "You're allied with Icy, Darcy, and Stormy! There's no doubt that Icy's gloated in length about all the shit that happened in Shadow Haunt!"

"No."

I paused. "What?"

"Icy has talked a lot about your friends and your little adventures over the past two years, yes." he said. "But you –no. She may not be the brightest witch, but she knows when to keep her mouth shut about you around me. Granted, she did try to describe to me in full detail everything that happened once you were taken to Shadow Haunt, but once I heard your name and Darkar's I put an end to it."

"Why?"

He took my hands in his. "I'm not going to disrespect your right to privacy by listening to the witches tell horror stories about you. I want to hear things about you from your mouth, not Icy's. Your past is yours." He sighed, clearly frustrated. "And if you truly don't want to talk about what happened yet, I can't make you. Even if I want to."

I never told anyone about what really happened in Shadow Haunt. Not Stella, not my parents, not Kiko. No one knew, and I was alright with that. It had been smooth sailing with never having to spill on what only the witches and I knew.

But I remembered a few months ago when there was something that Baltor had desperately been trying to avoid telling me, despite my curiosity, and it took me almost dying to make him break. And here he was giving me endless space until I decided to tell him my something.

How much would it take for me to break and finally tell him?

Maybe it was only fair to tell him. He told me something extremely personal to him; I should do the same.

No, fairness had nothing to do with it. We weren't five year olds in kindergarten where one demands a crayon after the other takes one of theirs. The rules of the playground don't apply here. If I wanted to keep my mouth shut about the Shadow Haunt thing, I had every right to.

"She said you knew her." I brought up.

"Bloom I swear to every god in this dimension, I have no idea what that was." he told me, firmly. "The only person I've ever met who looks like that is you, and if I had, I most likely would've attacked you on sight on Solaria."

I stared down at the floor. "How did she know the Ancestresses?"

He shook his head. "I have no idea. It was probably just some meaningless threat to try and make us paranoid."

She did a damn good job at it.

"But I think we can both agree that you practicing dark magic is officially off the table." he said. "Then how are we going to break the curse?" I asked, desperately.

"We'll figure out some other way. I'm not putting you through that again, and I'm not going to sit here and watch you keep torturing yourself by saying you can handle it."

"But the curse!"

"But nothing! You're not doing any more dark magic."

I sighed, dragging my hand through my hair.

He ran a hand down his face. "I don't know what all happened to you in Shadow Haunt, but after seeing that, I can tell that you're dangerously on the edge of returning to that if we keep this up."

"I _can_ handle it." I hadn't meant to say that through clenched teeth.

Baltor shook his head in disbelief and muttered under his breath: "Amazing."

"What?"

"You're _so_ stubborn and in denial you can't admit to yourself that you have weaknesses. You've tricked yourself into believing that you have to be able to overcome everything. You have to be the perfect, flawless savior." He turned me to face him again. "Bloom, you can save the Magic Dimensions as many times as you want, but you're barely eighteen, and from the looks of it, you've seen and been through a lot of shit. Having one flaw isn't going to hurt you."

My brain went immediately on the defense to rebel. I was Bloom. I was the one who always had a plan on missions. I was the one who was always put together. If I couldn't handle one little thing, who knows what could possibly happen? And it would be my fault if something went wrong.

And besides, who had time to think about not being able to handle something when everyone else already assumed you had it handled?

_Finally talking about the Shadow Haunt thing and opening up to someone might make you feel better_.

Letting me go, he sank down on the couch with a sigh. "No one's going to blame you if you can't handle one little thing." he regarded, somberly. "_I'm_ not."

I'd been holding back on the Shadow Haunt thing for so long, and I already felt like I was going to explode just when people barely mentioned it. What was going to happen if I managed to keep it to myself for more than that? What would happen in a year? Or three? Or thirty?

My thoughts traveled back almost a year ago after the incident happened, and I'd been talking with Flora. She'd tried to get me to talk about it with her, and I'd absolutely refused. _The longer you bottle everything inside, the bigger the explosion later._

I hated when Flora's advice came back to haunt me. Especially when she makes a point.

Taking a deep breath, I walked over to the couch and took a seat next to Baltor. He gave me a skeptical look as I pulled my knees up to my chest, awkwardly looking around the room.

"It was last year . . ."

* * *

_"I am and will be your worst nightmare." That is the most essential line in this entire series, and the biggest piece of foreshadowing I will ever give. Write it down for future reference._

_So, yeah, that happened. Your first and definitely not last glimpse of Dark Bloom. Unfortunately, she will not be appearing again anytime soon, but give it some time and you'll see her again soon. In the characters' world, give it a few years. I only wanted to touch base on Dark Bloom, because she is essentially a big part of Bloom's inner struggle with herself, and I also needed a way to bring it up so I just thought "Hey, let's make her doppelganger the same as Dark Bloom." Why? Because I'm the author, and that's what I wanted; therefore, it was written._

_DUN-DUN-DUNNNN! We have officially reached Chapter 16 aka my baby chapter! I have literally had Chapter 16 planned since before this fic started. It was basically finished before this story even started, and was one of the main reasons as to why Broken Pieces was brought up. It's my most precious treasure, and I'm excited that I finally get to share it with you guys._

_**IMPORTANT:** And, so the formatting isn't all screwed up, I am going to put here that the next chapter will talk about some triggering topics, so if you have any triggers when it comes to torture then you should probably avoid Chapter 16._

_Anyway, I will see you all next Saturday (possibly earlier –I don't think I can mentally handle four updates in one month) for the release of Chapter 16! And, as always, I will check back in on this whenever I have free time to triple check for grammar errors, and please review if you liked this chapter! Your reviews mean the world to me, and every single one of them truly brightens my day._

_~Bloom_


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

"It was last year," I began, my voice barely above a murmur. "We had this new teacher join the staff –Avalon. He was some paladin from a dead planet hardly anyone knew the name of. We threw this huge welcoming party for him and he instantly had every girl in the school wrapped around his finger, promising them their innermost desires." It didn't seem like two years since I'd met the fake Avalon. The thought that that much time had passed since he'd charmed us all into never distrusting him was intense.

"You saw through it." Baltor assumed.

"Oh no, actually the opposite. I was pretty much the first to jump."

He raised an eyebrow, clearly surprised that I would fall for something so easily.

"Apparently Ms. F told him about me, and he was intrigued in helping my cause." I reasoned.

"Cause?"

"Finding my birth parents."

Baltor nodded in understanding, but I saw a flicker of guilt in his eyes.

"No one had ever been that eager to help me before, and I was stupid enough to believe that he could."

I sighed. "Over the next few months, I completely trusted Avalon. I started trusting him more than my own friends, more than Sky. I don't know why, but I just did. I told him everything about anything and he listened. It was . . . nice. I always felt like I was just burdening the other girls every time I brought it up, but when I was around him, he seemed to genuinely care.

"Then the first incident happened." I paused, unsure of how to continue. "I didn't know it at the time, but Avalon was working with Darkar. Darkar always knew the possibility of his Shadow Fire not being enough to open the gates to Realix, so that's why he instructed Avalon to take a 'special interest' in me. He wanted to know every little thing about me so he could use it to his advantage if necessary."

"You mentioned an incident." he reminded me. "The _first_."

I nodded, fighting back the subtle pricking sensation behind my eyes. "It was about halfway through second year, and Avalon pulled me aside during a training session. He said he'd found some article talking about this spell that could help me get more in touch with my powers. Being the brainless idiot I am, I agreed to try it out."

"But it wasn't it."

Shaking my head, I curled up more in my spot. "It was a test given to him by Darkar. He knew that if it came down to it, I would never help him take the Ultimate Power. So, he gave Avalon this test spell that would temporarily change my heart. The next time I'd go to test my powers, the spell would take effect. Avalon told me it would take a day for the 'spell' to work, but he knew that I wasn't going to wait a whole day."

"Anyone who knows you could've guessed that." Baltor remarked slyly. "You aren't exactly the patient type."

A small smile crossed my face, but it disappeared as the next memory wormed its way to the surface. "Not even an hour later, I decided to test it out. All the other girls had went off with Musa to hear a new track she'd recorded, so I was all by myself. It seemed harmless . . .

"And then Timmy walked in."

Feeling my hands begin to shake, I tugged the sleeves of my sweater further down my arms, covering them. "I don't really remember a lot between the time Timmy walked in and when I woke up from the spell. I can only recall opening my eyes to see the girls and Avalon hovering over me, and someone carrying Timmy off on a stretcher.

"From what they told me the next day he had suffered from a major concussion, three broken ribs, and a shattered ankle bone." My throat tightened as I spoke. "Timmy said he forgave me since I had no real control, but he still can't look me in the eye."

Baltor was unnaturally quiet, his gaze more serious than I'd ever seen it before.

"The second incident happened an hour later." I said, happy to move on from the accident with Timmy. "I unexpectedly turned, the darkness forcing me to transform, and stormed out of the dorm room with the intent to steal Alfea's piece of the Codex."

"Because Darkar knew that you were the only one besides Faragonda that knew where the secret library was." he pieced together.

I nodded, opening my mouth to continue but then stopped. "How do you know about the secret library, and that the Codex was there? I never told you about that."

"Never mind what I know. That's a subject for another time, now continue."

Giving him a suspicious look, I obliged. "I can remember most of what happened in the secret library; definitely more than what I could with the first incident. I tore that place apart, floor to ceiling, looking for the Codex. Who knows how the girls found me, but they did, and I gave them no choice but to fight me. Both of us knew there was no real point in them fighting me; my Dragon Fire being more powerful than all five of them combined. Flora tried to talk me down, but that was even more useless. By the time Avalon showed up to act as the good guy and save the day, I'd already blown apart the roof and handed the Codex off to one of Darkar's pets." I didn't know whether the pause was for the story or for me. "The next thing I knew, I was on the floor, back to normal. Avalon claimed that Icy had to have hexed me during our last fight and that's why it was happening. You and I both know that she's not that skilled though, so that should've been an obvious flag.

"Nothing like that happened again until after Darkar knew for sure he needed me to open up the portal." I continued. "When the witches failed to kidnap me from the Resort Realm, he ordered Avalon to finish the job.

"The Fates couldn't have timed it more perfectly than they did. I was in the midst of a rage fest outside Alfea, confused and frustrated over how I knew close to nothing about my powers, and he took advantage of it. He called me to meet him, said he found a surefire way to strengthen my powers, and I seized it with every fiber of my being. Not bothering to waste any time, I went with him to his office and he showed it to me.

"I'm not sure what it was, really –some big, glowing, bubble-thing–"

"An Empowerment Bubble." For a moment, annoyance settled in his features. "Damn, why didn't _I_ think to use that on you?"

I rolled my eyes, shaking my head at his epiphany. "Sure, it was one of those things. Anyway, it ended up draining my powers instead of strengthening it –big surprise. He proceeded to knock me out with a sleeping spell and delivered me to Darkar."

Noticing my silence, Baltor became somber again. "And then the last incident happened."

My stomach twisted painfully, memories of Shadow Haunt flooding my mind. "That was the really bad one. I woke up inside the castle, strapped down to a table. Darkar and Avalon were there, watching me; like they were waiting for me to wake up. It was the first time I'd ever actually seen Darkar face-to-face, and, at first, I wasn't scared of him. He was just another power-hungry weirdo who wanted to hurt us. And I made sure he knew that I was anything but some little girl who he could manipulate into doing whatever he wanted."

"But if he only needed the Dragon Fire, why didn't he simply strip you of your powers?"

Chills ran through my veins, turning them to ice. "After the war with the Army of Decay freshmen year, we all decided that it would be safest for everyone if I was able to protect my powers from being removed. So, with the help of Ms. F, Griffin, and Saladin, they managed to put this unbreakable spell on me that way no one could take the Dragon Fire ever again." I paused, taking a steadying breath. "That was the worst decision I've ever made in my entire life. And if I had the chance to undo it, I would in a heartbeat.

"Stripping me of my powers was the first thing Darkar tried to do, upon Icy's suggestion." I said, adding the last part bitterly. "With the spell on me, though, it made it impossible for them to take the Flame. It didn't stop them from using that against me, though. Every time they tried to use the Whisperian Crystals on me, it felt like someone was just stabbing me in the chest, tearing apart everything inside."

"And so they used it as leverage."

I was hesitant, but I nodded. "Darkar would try to intimidate me into submission, and each time I said no the witches would do it again. And again. And again." I could feel my lower lip start to tremble, remembering the agony. I had to bite it to keep it still. "They had me screaming and begging for death within an hour. But they didn't let up."

Baltor's arm was around me instantly, pulling me to his side. His fingers began brushing through my hair, an effort to calm me down despite the angry tension in them. "How long?"

I shrugged. "Four hours, at least. If Icy had had it her way, she would've kept going all day.

"It took them a while to come up with a new plan, but I was still a mess when they came back. He decided he was going to use the spell on me again to forcibly pull me into darkness."

"The one they used on you before was only temporary, though."

"Darkar had been spending his free time perfecting it. He didn't want to take any chances that it would wear off while we were taking the Ultimate Power. He spared no expense in having it cause me as much pain as possible. I couldn't breathe; I couldn't see; I couldn't move. All I could do was listen to this god-awful screaming that just kept going on and on and on . . .

"But then I realized that it wasn't someone else screaming, it was me. The pain in my chest suddenly just split, and the other half went to my head, intensifying. It started to feel like something was trying to crawl out of my head, raking their nails against my skull, and my brain.

"And then everything stopped. I wasn't in pain anymore. I just felt tired, almost like I was floating. But there was this numb, nagging feeling in my head that something was wrong.

"After that, I just fell unconscious. The girls had to fill me in on just what all I did, and what all had happened. I was on such an adrenaline rush after Sky snapped me out of the spell that I could barely remember destroying Darkar."

He must've noticed my pause, placing a hand on my knee. "What happened after the adrenaline rush wore off?"

"The pain came back. It was as if I'd never escaped, and I was still strapped to the table with the crystals hanging over me. And it was just as strong –to the point where Sky had to carry me into the hospital. I was there for about a week due to what happened before and after I turned – two split irises; internal bruises and wounds; tainted magic," I paused, trying to lower my voice some, "and a gash in my chest."

"A gash?" His tone was intense, full of concern and anger. "You never said anything about a gash."

_That's because I was hoping you wouldn't hear that part._

"Is that what the other you was referring to? Icy literally _cut you open_?"

My gaze cast downward, a chill enveloping my heart. "It was my fault. I knew I should've just kept my mouth shut, but I didn't and . . ." I put my face in my hands for a moment, trying to calm myself down.

"The witches were going to go meet up with Darkar to talk about another plan of attack to try and get the Dragon Fire. Avalon had gone off somewhere; I never saw him again after waking up. Icy had made some comment about me, and I don't even remember what I snapped back, I just know that it was _really_ bad. And then she cracked. She conjured an icicle and she got on the table, and she said that she was over my constant bullshit, and that if they couldn't get my powers through magic, she'd cut them out. And she just . . ." I couldn't finish, remembering the experience of her sinking the blade into my chest and sluggishly pulling down.

Baltor only paused for a second. "I'll kill her."

Seeing him go to stand up, I immediately grabbed his hand, terrified. "Please don't! Please don't do anything!"

"You want me to sit here and do nothing while the person who tried to play autopsy on you is still alive?" he shouted, loud and infuriated.

"I just want to move on!"

"While I make sure she moves on into the afterlife!"

This time he successfully stood up, but I gripped his hand tighter. Whipping his head towards me I began to panic, seeing how a crimson color had replaced grey of his eyes.

"Baltor," my voice was barely above a whisper, "please?"

I knew that the only thing on his mind was storming out and tearing Icy to shreds. (Hell, _I_ wanted to do that.) I knew firsthand what his rage was like from past experience; the question of what his rage would be like when it was borne out of pure fury was yet to be answered. Frankly, I didn't want to know what that situation would look like, and a bloodbath wouldn't solve anything. And it definitely wasn't going to help him keep up being in control. He'd been doing well so far in not losing control since that night we kissed. The last thing I wanted was for him to break that chain because of me again.

Baltor's hand clenched around mine; his knuckles turning white as they trembled with restrained power. It was taking everything he had to not lose it.

Eventually, he gave in and sat down, still gripping my hand.

"She didn't get too far down. The scar's really easy to cover up with magic so no one else knows about it." I continued. "Darkar walked in after hearing me screaming and he freaked. He'd found out that he couldn't get into Realix with just my Dragon Fire; he needed the source of Light itself which was me. That was pretty much the only reason why he healed me at all. It wasn't much of anything, but it was enough to stop all the blood. I was still pain, but he just gagged me to shut me up and left with the witches."

Baltor didn't look any less furious, running his thumb over my knuckles. In fact, he looked angrier than before. "So you spent a week in the hospital."

I nodded. "They tried to hold me another week, but I wasn't staying in that room any longer than I had to. They said it was for psychiatric treatment, but I just wanted to go home. I just wanted to curl up in my bed in Gardenia and forget about everything that had happened. Of course, the girls insisted that I stay and go to the big dance that Alfea had planned. I said no, Stella said yes. So, we all know who won that argument.

"And now, everyone just acts like I'm supposed to be okay. Like everything that happened in Shadow Haunt is irrelevant now; like everything that happened to me doesn't matter. I'm just supposed to tough it out and hope that eventually I'll become numb to it and forget." I glanced up at him. "How am I supposed to forget that?"

The moment I finished, I felt substantially lighter. It was like a major shift, but for once, a good kind of major shift. I never imagined that letting someone in on the Shadow Haunt thing would be so relieving. A weight had been lifted off my shoulders that I hadn't even realized had been crushing me that much.

"Who else knows?" Baltor asked after a few minutes of silence.

"Just you," I said, averting my gaze down to the floor.

"Not even your nature friend?"

I shook my head at the mention of the one person I'd considered in the past. "Flora's a great listener, but I don't think she'd fully . . . _understand_." I could feel my cheeks heat up slightly, embarrassed. "You're the only one I've ever felt comfortable enough around to talk about it with."

"And why's that?"

I saw his smirk and couldn't help but smile a little bit. "I might have an idea."

After my talk with Sky, I hadn't had a lot of time to consider everything he'd said about me and Baltor. More importantly, I hadn't had a lot of time to consider his question of if I did actually _l-word_ Baltor. But, sitting there, divulging my darkest secret for the first time in almost a year to the one person I never thought I'd ever tell it to, I started to wonder if I finally had an answer to Sky's question.

I hadn't noticed just how close he'd gotten to me. Baltor's face was only an inch or two away from mine.

Leaning forward, I rested my forehead against his, fighting back the urge to close the distance between our lips. "I really want to kiss you again." I quietly admitted, closing my eyes.

His hand moved up to gently cup my cheek, not wanting to make any more dangerously intimate contact. "That's not something that 'just friends' say."

I laughed, ducking my head some. "No, I don't think it is." Feeling the restraint become clearer in his fingers with each second, I leaned back some. "If it's cool, I'd prefer if we kept the Shadow Haunt thing between us for now." I queried, feeling awkward for breaking apart so quickly. "I'm still trying to come to terms with some things, and I want to feel okay about everything before the girls know."

He nodded. "I'd be surprised if you already had come to terms with that."

I didn't stay much longer after that, knowing that the girls would surely be wondering where I was (and where the barrier buster was). After saying my goodbyes, I headed towards the exit of the room before coming to a halt.

"Thank you," I stuttered out, continuing to face the way out. "You know, for listening and everything."

Despite facing away from him, I could feel his eyes on me. "Bloom, if you ever try to thank me for doing that again, I will make sure you know exactly why I never want to hear that phrase come out of your mouth."

I couldn't help but smirk. "Then I look forward to the next time I say it."

* * *

_This chapter is the culmination of like nine months' of work, blood, sweat, tears, and anticipation. I almost didn't post tonight because I was so scared to do it. I've worked on it for so long, it's become my baby and I wasn't certain I wanted everyone to see it yet. That's how deep I am in this shit. Don't get like me, ladies and gentlemen._

_ It is finally revealed! Yes, this is a much darker version than the original, like I warned in previous chapters. Plus, yes, it is extremely different than the original; obviously, please don't leave comments that say that. We're all aware. Anyway, this was actually one of the chapters that originally spawned this entire plot. I was exploring my dark side in writing, and this came about, and I thought to myself how I could incorporate it, and boom. I analyzed it along with some of the other earlier chapters that you've previously read and here we are now. And, as you can tell, this chapter is much shorter than what I normally do, but that's mostly because it's more dialogue driven than the others._

_ Also, I wanted to address a review I received on the last chapter, I believe it was from a person with the username MeltingL Twitter. This person said that they weren't sure if I liked Bloom. And, despite what this chapter clearly portrays due to her suffering, I do like Bloom. She is my precious baby along with Baltor, who needs to be protected at all costs (Except in the newer seasons. They ruined her character from season 5 onward and I will never forgive Straffi for that.). I've always identified with Bloom as a child and even now, and her character holds a very special place in my heart. I could never hate her, unless we're speaking about seasons 5 and 6 and on the occasional episode in season 7. And, I don't make other characters sound condescending towards her to bully her or anything; I do it because as each of the seasons progressed she rose up onto her high horse, and I'm trying to make her realize that she needs to get off of it, if that makes sense. So, I hope that answers that question._

_ And, oh my God. We only have 9 chapters left, you guys. And, SURPRISE, we're getting weekly updates from now on (hopefully)! That way, by the time this story ends, it will be around the beginning of September, and I can post book 2 by the end of September for you guys. I don't want a big gap between the two, so I want to jump on it as quickly as I can. We all know how bad I am when I get on hiatus; I literally disappear. _

_ Alright, as I always, I hope you all liked the chapter and I'll go back in in a few days to touch up on grammar errors I missed. Please leave a review for this chapter if you liked it, and I'll see you all again hopefully next week as we take a day at the museum!_

_~Bloom_


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17**

"Someone please remind me why we chose to go out on the one day it's _pouring rain_?"

Flora sighed next to me, resting her chin in her hand as Stella and Musa started their daily fight. "And so it begins," she murmured.

I groaned, smacking my head against the back of my bus seat. "How long is this one going to last, Tec?"

"Statistically, based on the lengths of their previous arguments, six minutes and thirty-two seconds."

"Great," Layla complained. "That's fifteen seconds longer than yesterday."

"They could've at least done it this morning," Flora said, "that way people wouldn't be staring at us."

"That's the least of their worries."

Attempting to block out the screeching from the two quarreling fairies, I collapsed against the seat and stared out the window of the bus. I could barely see outside with how hard the rain was pelting the glass, and the heat from inside had begun to form a fog, blocking my vision further.

When I woke up this morning, the last thing I wanted to do was go shopping. Ever since we came back from our trip to the Omega Dimension, we'd been enduring almost non-stop Enchantix training. The majority of our classes had been replaced with training sessions with all the other fairies who'd earned their Enchantix. Griselda was overseeing the classes (like always) to make sure all of us were prepared to take on Baltor if necessary. Of course, I knew it would be pointless, but I kept my mouth shut anyway.

Everyone was doing fine during training, except for one. And, what a surprise, it was me. During one of the very first tests of our powers, we were forced to go up against a creature that could render you powerless. Each of the other girls took them out with ease. When it came my turn, my powers were anything but stable. I had no authority over what I was doing; fire covering everywhere, and the creature coming extremely close to subduing me. It took Griselda, WizGiz, Palladium, and Faragonda to get the situation back under control.

According to Ms. F, my Enchantix was what they called incomplete. Most of my powers had reached the Enchantix level, but there were still a few areas where they were still at a lower level, sending my Dragon Fire into a state of frenzy when used. Potentially, if continuously acted upon in mass amounts, it was deadly. It was deadly not just for others, but also for me. Having the most powerful magic in the universe go haywire was not the safest thing for anyone. But the only way to complete was to earn it the correct way –saving someone from your home planet. I was left with no other option but to deal with not being in full control.

"Bloom?"

Torn from my thoughts, I saw Flora staring at me with a mildly concerned look. "Are you okay, sweetie? You've been really distant lately."

"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm just distracted, that's all." I started pulling at the end of my glove.

She smiled sympathetically. "Are you sure you're not still caught up on it?"

Pausing, I furrowed my brow in confusion. _It_? My eyes widened a bit as I realized what she was referring to. "My Enchantix? No, I'm fine." I denied, persistently. "It's not a big deal."

"Hey, don't worry about it." She assured, seeing through my facade. "It can't be impossible for you to complete your Enchantix."

I weakly smiled. "Yeah, right."

"I'm surprised Ms. Faragonda didn't pull you from the fight." Layla said. "With how severe your problem is, it doesn't really make sense for her to keep you in."

"Layla's right. Based on my calculations, if you used the right spell, you could easily take out everyone around you."

Musa's attention was immediately caught, drawing her out of her fight with Stella. "Hey, maybe she's hoping a fireball will shoot out by accident and hit Baltor straight in his smug face."

I laughed, shaking my head. "I don't think it works like that, Musa."

"Let a girl dream, Bloom. Let a girl dream." The hat on her head slid down over her eyes, making her stop. A low growl came from her and she ripped the hat off. "Dammit, Stella! Why do we have to wear these dumb outfits?"

Stella gasped, loudly. "How dare you! Those were custom made by the best tailors in Solaria to repel rain!"

"You said you had to explain to them what a raincoat was! How does that guarantee that they even work? They barely know what rain is!"

"You're just in denial because you actually think they look good."

"You put Bloom in pink when she has red hair. I think she will agree with me that she hates them, too."

"Hey, look at that!" I interrupted, standing up. "We're at our stop!"

As I rushed to get away from the impending fight, I heard Flora follow me, quietly apologizing for our loud bickering to everyone else riding the bus.

Magix City was always bustling, even when it was raining. Tourism was one of the main money-making aspects of the city, leaving the streets full of people on a daily basis. And since it was around noon, the sidewalks were packed.

I'd thrown out the idea to get pizza, but I was stubbornly denied by everyone in the group. Instead, everyone aside from me settled on getting coffee, which made absolutely no sense to me. You don't get stupidly overpriced drinks when you're hungry. You get food. Like pizza.

Tired of walking, we all sat down around one of the shaded tables on the patio outside the coffee shop.

"So, did I miss much while I was gone?" I asked.

"Dear Arcadia!" Stella exclaimed, her voice shrill. "You missed _everything_!"

"Everything?"

"_Everything_!" she confirmed, slamming her fists on the table dramatically. "Cassandra and Chimera have finally been reprimanded and have no control over my father anymore."

"When did that happen?" My eyes wide.

"Literally, like, the day after you left. They announced their wedding; we hijacked one of the reception acts; we disguised ourselves as leva-bike riding, acrobatic daredevils; and crashed the wedding."

I paused, trying to let everything sink in. "So, you all were basically biker chick wedding crashers?"

She nodded.

"Dammit! Why does all the cool stuff happen when I leave?"

"You're just jealous because we got to ride leva-bikes and you didn't." she chided. "Oh, and Layla's in an arranged marriage."

The dark-haired girl whirled on the blonde. "Stella!"

"_What_!" I shouted at the top of my lungs. My eyes shot to Layla. "You're engaged and you didn't tell me?"

Layla glared over at Stella, boiling mad. "Because I'm not having an arranged marriage. Remember, Stella?"

"You're not going through with it?" I asked, still shell-shocked that no one had told me about this when I'd returned days ago.

"Of course not!" the Princess of Tides denied, indignantly. "If your parents came up to you and told you they picked out your husband for you would you go through with it?"

"His name is Nabu; he's a prince."

"Stella, you're about to become very well-acquainted with my fist." Layla threatened.

"If you were just a little more open to love the thought of relationships might not repulse you as much."

"Why should I have to be forced into marriage straight out of school? Why should I have to be forced into marriage at all? Why can't I find love for myself if or when I want to find love?" she inquired, passionately. "Is being independent _that_ bad?"

"Let's calm down on the public social justice rants, shall we?" Tecna interrupted, taking a drink.

"Yeah, guys, people are starting to stare." Flora added. Her cheeks were red as she bashfully glanced at the staring passersby.

Stella huffed, crossing her arms and slumping in her chair. Layla's actions matched her identically.

"Guys, I think I'm going to break up with Riven."

The only sound heard were raindrops hitting the pavement.

"Holy shit, are you serious?" I asked. "I thought you all were doing really well after the thing between you two in Realix?"

I pretended to not notice Stella fake fall out of her chair and mouth to Flora: _Did she just say the r-word?_

"We were, but lately, it's just been . . . _dead_. I don't know what happened, but all we've been doing is fighting and I'm getting sick of it. He's just got so many negative vibes."

"Well, whatever decision you make, we'll support you." Layla said.

"Yeah, I mean, it's a good decision if you break up with him, Musa." Stella nodded. "He's mean."

"He's simply not very fond of you, Stella."

"Everyone loves me, Tecna!"

Tuning the argument out, I suddenly felt a prickle on the back of my neck. It was the same feeling I got every time someone was behind me. Glancing over my shoulder, I didn't see anything, but it still didn't die.

"Does anyone else feel eyes piercing into the back of their head, or is it just me?"

My paranoia instantly skyrocketed. The thought of who it could possibly be made me dig my nails into the sides of my coffee cup. Worrying about that was the last thing I needed today.

"Oh, please, Musa!" Stella exclaimed, dramatically. "We're in Magix. What could go wrong?"

"You did not just say that."

"Musa's right, Stel." I spoke up, despite the voice in my head screaming at me not to. "Something feels off."

"Bloom, don't encourage her." she replied, flipping out her compact mirror.

The music fairy frowned her brow, but subtly perked up, like she'd heard a distant noise. When I'd first met Musa I'd be lying if I said her sonar hearing didn't freak me out. Her ears could pick up the smallest sound from miles away. It was useful on missions, but she suffered at night when a quiet creak of a floorboard would wake her up. So when we all pitched in to buy her a pair of magic noise-cancelling headphones for her birthday sophomore year, she nearly started crying in relief.

"Can't we have one day where we can just sit around and not worry that some psychopath is going to attack us?" Stella said, desperately.

Grabbing Stella's wrist, Musa angled the mirror in a different direction, despite the Solarian princess's struggling.

"What are you-?" Glancing in the mirror, Stella froze. Her eyes moved to Flora. "Flo, knock that plant over over there."

Flora looked at her as if she'd been asked to shoot someone.

"Sorry, my mistake." She turned to Tecna. "Tec, you don't care about nature. Knock that plant over."

"I can do better than that." Not even tearing her eyes away from the conversation, she waved her hand in the direction of the planet behind me.

A man fell out from behind the planted tree, scrambling to his feet the second he met the ground. He looked around the boys' age, but I'd never seen him at Red Fountain. His dark hair was pulled back in a _very _long braid, and he was wearing a purple tracksuit with gold accents on the shirt and the sleeves rolled up. There was a red cape tied around his waist and I could just barely see the violet markings he had on his slim, caramel arms. Based on his build alone, I could tell this guy was definitely not a specialist.

Musa's mouth was agape, staring at all of us. "How long has she known that he was there?"

"I know everything."

"Sorry for staring," the man immediately started apologizing, approaching our table. The closer he got, I noticed his eyes were more trained on Layla than anyone else. "I thought I recognized you from middle school, but it was my bad."

A look we all knew too well broke out on Stella's face. "Check it, Layla!" Stella said, excitedly. "How can you be against guys when you have a totally hot admirer who's been staring at you for like half an hour?"

Layla stood up, angrily slamming her fists on the table. "It's your bad, alright! You think it's cool spying on people; listening in on their private conversations like that?"

"Layla!" Flora quietly exclaimed.

"Well, it appears that I'm not welcome here." the man said, scratching the back of his head.

Stella leapt to her feet, desperation clear in her eyes. "No! Stay!" She yanked a chair over from another table and pushed it between her and Musa. "Sit with us!"

He looked hesitant, obviously unsure of Stella's persistent behavior (Aren't we all?), but obliged.

"So," she said, ignoring the death glare Layla was sending her. "Who are you?"

"I'm Ophir," he introduced, still continuously glancing over at Layla. "I'm a wizard from Tides."

Stella's face lit up brighter. "Oh, really?" She looked over at the glaring girl. "Layla, did you hear that? Ophir the wizard is from Tides, too! Isn't that a coincidence?"

She made a small 'hmph' sound.

"Layla's the princess of Tides!" she told him, ecstatically. "What a small dimension this is! So, _Ophir from Tides_, what brings –"

A bolt of lightning suddenly struck mere meters away from us, causing Stella to end her question with a scream. They started appearing faster, sending the people around us into a mass panic. Everyone was screaming as the thunder boomed louder and the rain came down harder and faster, flooding the streets in seconds.

"Citizens of Magix!"

I threw my head back and repressed the rising groan.

"In twenty minutes I will be at the Magix Museum to take the Ancestral Eye!" Baltor's voice echoed over the storm. "You can hand it over or fight. Either way, it will be mine!"

The moment he finished, the storm came to halt. The thunder, the lightning, even the rain. The world seemed to come to a standstill.

"The Ancestral what?" Stella asked, breaking the deafening silence.

"It's an ancient artifact of the Ancestresses," Tecna explained, typing away on the mini laptop she magically conjured.

"Well, if he's asking for a fight, let's go give him one." I said, wringing the water out of my hat. "I'm getting sick of this going to Magix and never being able to get pizza shit."

* * *

I'd never been inside the Magix Museum. Over the past few years, I'd passed the building a thousand times, always wondering what was in it. Although, getting to see all the artifacts would've been a lot cooler if we weren't there for a fight.

Getting inside was the opposite of a piece of cake. The security there was one of the most extensive in the city, but luckily we were able to slip in right as Baltor broke the wards and he and the witches broke in. We'd all transformed the second we made it inside, making it easier for us to fight if it came down to one.

"I'm sorry, who invited this guy to come with us?" Layla angrily snapped.

"I just thought you guys might like some assistance against Baltor," Ophir replied, spinning his golden staff in his hand.

"No, we would not like some assistance against Baltor. I think we've got it covered."

"Don't be rude, Layla!" Stella chided, forgetting that we were supposed to be sneaking. "Besides, _I_ invited him. So, where's this Ancestral Eye thing?" Stella asked, peeking over Tecna's shoulder.

The short-haired fairy's fingers flew over her holo-scanner, brow scrunched in concentration. "Normally the Eye is kept in Hall H." she said. "According to my scan, though, it appears the guards have all gathered near the vault."

"Which means they probably moved the Eye there, right?" I inquired.

"Presumably, yes. Therefore, we can also reasonably assume that Baltor will be there, too."

Something in my stomach fluttered, nervously. My anxiety always spiked before fighting Baltor. Oddly, we'd never actually hit each other during battle, and every new fight opened the possibility that we could. With Baltor's skill set he was able to easily block my attacks while never firing a shot at me. But, now, with my apparently incomplete and dangerous Enchantix powers, I was terrified to try and fire a blast at him, let alone a rock.

"Well, let's get down there and bring him the fight he's asking for!" Layla replied, fiercely.

"Whoa! Wait a sec!" Musa interrupted, jumping into a defensive stance. "They're not going to the vault!"

Everyone instantly went on their guard, our backs facing each other in a circle.

"What do you mean they're not going to the vault?" I asked, confused.

"They're not going to the vault." she repeated, firmly.

"Musa, would you like to vague that up a little more, please?" Stella snipped, sarcastically.

She groaned. "The witches aren't going to the vault. I just saw them head towards Hall H –QED, not towards the vault."

"But that doesn't make any sense. If they're going after the Eye, why are they heading in the opposite direction?" Flora asked.

"Maybe they got confused," Layla suggested. "Maybe Baltor thinks it's still in Hall H."

I shook my head. "No, Baltor wouldn't do that. He wouldn't attack without knowing exactly where it's going to be." Glancing to my left, I saw Ophir's eyes on me, almost scrutinizing me.

"Then what's left in Hall H for them to want?"

"The website says that the case the Ancestral Eye is displayed in is actually a powerful artifact as well." Tecna suggested. "It's called the Agador Box. It's able to hold any amount of magic in the Magic Dimension."

"With how much magic Baltor's stolen, it sounds like something he'd want." Flora said.

"Alright then, let's get to Hall H before the witches can get away with the box."

Breaking formation, we all dashed down the corridors to find Hall H. Hopefully, if we timed it correctly, we all could get through this ordeal unscathed.

We reached Hall H just as Icy was levitating the box into the air. It was full of artifacts in relation to the war on Sparx, including a huge stone statue of the Great Dragon.

"Let's just get this stupid box and get out of here." Stormy grumbled, bored.

"Not going to happen, witches!" I shouted, drawing their attention.

"Look who it is!" Icy said, grinning evilly. "It's our favorite fairies!" Letting the box fall back to the stand, she turned fully towards us. "It just wouldn't be the same if we didn't show you posers up."

Subtly nodding towards the box, I signaled Flora and Layla to get the box. If there was one thing Icy was good at, it was getting easily distracted.

"If anyone's going to be showing the other up, it's going to be us showing you up." Stella argued stepping up beside me.

"You honestly think you're going to beat us?"

I shrugged. "You all do have a track record."

Despite being across the room, I could see Icy's nostrils flare. "Then I'll happily break that track record." She smirked. "Darcy, Stormy, how does adding a new attraction here sound?" A ball of frost appeared in her hand. "Winx on Ice."

"Or," I suggested, "we could do another attraction. We could call it How Long Does it Take to Get the Agador Box From You?"

Whirling around, the space around Icy started to snow as she realized the Agador Box was gone. Her face was contorted into one of rage when she turned back to face us, her eyes on the box in Flora's hands. "That's it!" she screamed, a white light radiating from around her. "You fairies are finished!"

The light around her flickered out, despite her fury. A confused look replaced her angry one, making us all replicate her expression.

Something stirred deep in my chest, almost like I was sensing a presence. It was horribly similar to one I'd felt when I returned from Pyros and I'd ran out of the pizza parlor.

Flora tugged on my sleeve. "Bloom," she muttered, her voice small.

Footsteps rang out from behind us, making my heart skip a beat.

We all turned towards the doorway just in time to see none other than Baltor walk in. His eyes scanned over our group, lingering on me for no longer than a moment. "Well, it appears that today's words are being switched to 'hitting' and 'fighting.'"

"You're not getting the Agador Box, Baltor!" Layla proclaimed, boldly stepping forward.

"I'm not fighting you, Princess of Tides." Baltor replied, not fazed by her statement whatsoever. "However," a smirk pulled at his lips, "I will fight the Princess of Sparx now that she's presented herself as a decent challenge."

I gave him a dumbfounded look.

_You did not just call me out like that_.

He stared at me, expectantly.

His voice suddenly entered my head, making me jump a little. _We need to talk, just do it._

"Looks like Baltor wants some alone time with Bloom." Icy said, glancing to Darcy and Stormy. "Let's keep the others busy."

"As if!" Stella shouted, conjuring an orb of sunlight.

"Be careful," Flora whispered to me before they led the witches further away from me and Baltor.

There were a few moments of silence to make sure they were gone before he spoke up.

"Well, look at you," he said, smirking while looking me up and down. "I can see why you wanted to wait to show it off now."

I felt heat rise into my cheeks as I walked up to him. Snapping my fingers in front of his face, I jerked him back into reality. "My eyes are not down there. They're up here. Look at my eyes when we're talking in public."

"Can you blame me? It is a bit . . . _distracting_."

"Yes, I can blame you, because if you get too distracted we're going to have a very big problem on our hands." I shot down. "Besides, it's not a big deal. I found out it's not even a complete Enchantix. Since I forced it on Pyros it's incomplete and apparently deadly. One wrong blast and my powers could go haywire." I sighed. "I'm pretty much screwed until we can restore Sparx."

In my peripheral vision, I could see something flicker in his eyes. The more I focused in on his half of the flame I could sense what could only be described as terror.

I went to ask him what was wrong, but an immense ice blast erupted not a few inches from me. The blast was enough to nearly knock me off my feet, and made the temperature of the room drop multiple degrees.

Baltor instantly pulled me behind the statue of the Great Dragon, protectively. "Are you okay?" he inquired, concern in his gaze.

"Yes, Baltor, I'm fine." I retorted with a huff. "Icy seemed a little shook up, though." I raised a brow, suspicious. "I thought we talked about you not going after her?"

"I didn't go after Icy!" he claimed, defensively. "Did I issue a few verbal threats? Yes. But that was all."

"That's still going after her!" Pinching the bridge of my nose, I sighed. "What did you say to her?"

"Nothing your ears should hear."

"Baltor!"

"Look, now is not the time for arguing." he insisted. "I have a possible lead on your parents."

His words sent me into a state of shock.

"Think about it. Who are the only ones who saw your parents that night?" he said. "Who are the only ones who went after them?"

I frowned. "The Ancestresses." I replied. "But they're dead; they're useless to us."

A smirk crossed his face. "They're not quite as useless as you may believe. They may be dead, but according to a colleague of mine, their essence is trapped in Cloud Tower's crypt. If we go there, we can use our Dragon Fire to reach them and make them tell us what we want."

I shook my head. "What makes you think they won't reject us?"

"If Belladonna is anything like she was when I knew her, she won't be able to resist a meeting with the Princess of Sparx." He paused. "Excuse me, the _technical_ Princess of Sparx."

A smile broke through my stoic expression, and without thinking twice I instantly leapt into his arms. I felt him go rigid against me, but I was too elated to fully notice. "Thank you," I quietly muttered into his chest.

Baltor gripped my shoulders and gently pushed me back some almost immediately after I spoke. "Thank me like that when I can stop myself from turning into a raging demon."

My cheeks burned, feeling a wave of embarrassment and guilt wash over me. "My bad."

"You're fine; besides, we need to focus on other things." I saw him clench and unclench his hand by his side. "The Agador Box. I need it."

"Why? It's not like it has any superior magical powers or anything." I said, trying to not to let my eyes linger on his hand.

"No, but it has the ability to let me hold mass amounts of magic."

"You have an entire cave! Why do you need a box?"

"Because if I were to absorb all that magic I'd surely rip a hole in fabric of time. Now, I don't think that sounds very good, do you?"

I set my jaw, annoyed. "Fine. What do you need me to do?"

"I need you to do nothing. Just react how you think you should react, but don't actually do anything."

Confused, I blinked at him.

"You'll figure it out in the moment," he said, glancing around to see where everyone was. "Your friends seem to have finished taking out the witches." He shot me a smirk and held out his hand, much steadier than a few minutes ago. "Ready to go act like we've been fighting for the last half hour?"

Hearing Stella start to yell about where we'd gone, I accepted. "Always am."

* * *

I was exhausted by the time we got back to Alfea, but when Griselda came to the dorm and said that Faragonda had asked for me, I knew there was no putting it off until tomorrow.

"You wanted to see me, Ms. F?" I said, approaching the headmistress's desk.

She lifted her hand up a little, the door magically shutting.

Sitting down, I saw her nod. "Yes, Bloom, I did." The curtains behind her immediately slid shut, darkening the room some. Wariness flooded my senses. I wasn't sure what was going on, but I didn't think I was going to like it. There was something different in her demeanor; something almost _angry_.

"Is there anything you need to tell me?"

My eyes narrowed. Something was painfully off, a consistent reoccurrence today. "No, why?"

Reaching into one of the desk drawers, she pulled out a small screen. It reminded me of the tablets on Earth. Turning it on, loud noise started pouring out from it, sounding like explosions and shouting. She flipped the screen towards me to let me see what was happening.

Oh shit.

A chill ran through my blood. I felt my jaw drop slightly in shock, watching two very familiar faces duck behind a statue in the Magix Museum.

There was no denying that it was me and Baltor, both too caught up in yelling at each other to remember that there were security cameras no one had disabled. At first, I tried to not let my emotions show, but I knew it was all over the second I saw me throw my arms around him.

Her office was thrown back into silence as the screen turned to black, but anyone could feel the rising tension between the two of us.

"I'll say it again," she said. "Is there anything you need to tell me?"

"Ms. F –"

She slammed the screen on her desk, making me jump. "I am simply dumbfounded!" Ms. Faragonda exclaimed, outraged. "It's not only a disgrace to this school, but also a disgrace to Sparx! It's repulsive to even think."

I contained my cringe as she spat her words at me. I'd expected an angry reaction, but nothing as severe as this.

"Sneaking behind enemy lines to fornicate with the demon that destroyed your life," she kept speaking in disgust. "Have you gone mad, girl?

"Don't speak," she said as she saw me begin to open my mouth. "I don't want to hear whatever petty excuse you have for this mess." Her eyes darkened. "I knew you were sneaking off school grounds months ago; but if I'd known that this was the reason, you most certainly wouldn't still be doing it. I've let many things slide with you, Bloom. However, in this case, I will have to take action."

"Go ahead! I don't care!" I shouted, finally speaking up. "Report me to the Council; expel me! It's not going to change anything!"

Her eyes narrowed, appearing to be insulted by my outburst. "As much as I should, I have no present intentions of reporting you to the Council."

I froze in disbelief. "You're not?"

The old woman shook her head. "Exposing that to the public could create a backlash that would send the realm into a greater panic than it already is."

"So what? You're just going to pull me out of the fight?"

"No," she answered, a lilt of satisfaction in her voice. She folded her hands on top of the screen. "You have a potential that most students here don't have, Bloom. That potential has been noticed by many greater bodies that have taken a special interest in you. Therefore, I'm going to the opposite of what I should do. I'm going to let you try to get into good graces again."

Uneasy, I raised an eyebrow.

"You will stay in the fight against Baltor." she said, firmly. "You will act as if this conversation never happened. You will go up against him." My blood ran cold, fearing where this was going. "And you will kill him."

"No." I immediately shot down. "We're the Winx Club; we don't kill people."

"He's not a person; he's a demon. And when you hear what I have to offer you in exchange, you may change your tune."

I shook my head. "Do enlighten me."

She adjusted her glasses on the bridge of her nose. "As you may have already figured out, the Magix Council is one of the greater bodies who are interested in your abilities. If they were to hear of your current inability to obtain your Enchantix, I'm sure they would be more than willing to help fix that predicament."

My eyes widened slightly. "They can do that?"

"The Magix Council can do many things, Bloom. They can help you. All you have to do is destroy Baltor."

* * *

_Dear God, this took twelve thousand years. I am SO SO sorry that this took so long to post. I had originally planned to post this weeks ago, but something came up and forced me to postpone. And, I am aware that this tends to happen a lot, and I didn't plan to talk about this issue till the author's note in the epilogue, but I'm gonna talk about it here. I made a post discussing it on tumblr because I didn't want to bombard this note too much, so if you go to my profile there will be a link, just copy and paste it into your search bar and it'll take you straight to the post. And that's all I'm gonna say about that!_

_Yes, Faragonda now knows about the two of them and is a shady bitch about it! How did she get the security footage? That is an answer for another book. However, she is not the only one that will know about the two of them. In fact, there are TWO more people that will find out about them by the end of this book, and I gave a hint to one of them in this chapter. Also, from here on out, I will not be going by episodes. That was the original plan, but I said screw it I'm doing this my way, and I'm going off the tracks. So, every chapter from here on out is going to be a surprise for you all! And there aren't that many chapters left so . . . *shrugs*_

_Also, I am proud to announce that there is an official title for book 2 now! Once this fic is over, you should be on the lookout for **Break In**. And beware because it is not going to be rated T. Nope! It's going to be **Rated M** due to a lot more mature themes. I won't go into too many details, so I'll just leave that there. So, remember, **Break In, Rated M**._

_I don't really have anything more to say, especially since the tumblr post pretty much sums everything up. Therefore, I'm going to go off to bed and getting food so I can wake up early for work and stand around for 6 hours. Boo. Anyway, I've said it before and I'll say it again, I want to thank each and every one of you for staying with me this long. I know I promised weekly updates, but I can't promise that anymore, and I really hope you all can forgive me for that, and if you do, I doubly thank you. Working on this story has been a great outlet for me, and seeing all of your PMs and reviews make me so happy, and I thank you all from the bottom of my heart for putting up with all of my bullshit. As always, I'll double check for grammatical errors tomorrow, please leave a review if you liked it, and I'll see you all as we take a trip to the witches' crypt!_

_~Bloom_


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18**

During the few weeks I'd spent at Cloud Tower with Baltor, I'd decided to entertain myself while he was gone by going through the large collection of history books he'd acquired. And with how it was continuously growing, I'd had plenty to flip through when I was there.

Nothing had really caught my attention till I'd read the words _Water Stars_. Normally, I would've skimmed right past it, but my Dragon Fire stirred fiercely when I read it. I'd felt what could only be described as threatened. But why? Why had I felt so threatened by an artifact I'd never heard of until then?

Since it was only briefly mentioned in the script I'd been holding, I quickly picked up the book on Sparx I'd taken from Solaria and started tearing through it. (I'd snuck it into Baltor's collection just so I didn't have to worry about it until I went back.) I'd found it in the chapter directly after the one about the Ancestresses. According to the book, the Water Stars were the magical opposite of the Dragon Fire; the only thing in the Magical Universe that could extinguish the Flame. (No wonder I'd felt threatened.) They had the ability to render any holder of the Flame powerless, and, if used to its full potential, could cause fatal harm to said wielder.

I'd only been worried for a few minutes until I'd read that the location of the Water Stars hadn't been uncovered. Researchers had scoured the dimension for years on end, desperate to find them in case Baltor made an unlikely return (Surprise!). I didn't know why it had mollified me. Deep down, I knew there was one person that was bound to discover their location sooner or later. So, when she excitedly burst into the dorm a few days after our day at the museum, the air should not have been knocked out of my lungs.

"I've found them!" Tecna exclaimed, skidding into the common room. "I've found the Water Stars!"

The ball Layla had been balancing on the tip of her toe moved some, but she quickly regained balance. "Great!" she said, congratulating her. She paused. "Remind me again what those are?"

"Something she probably found out about at two o'clock this morning!" Musa shouted from her room. The sound of her flute picked up immediately after.

Tecna glared at the open door to the dorm she shared with the music fairy, but didn't verbally acknowledge it. "It's magic equivalent to that of the Dragon Fire," she explained. She held up a couple pieces of paper.

Perched on the arm of the couch painting her nails, Stella lifted an eyebrow. "And this is important because . . . ?" Stella asked.

She rolled her eyes. "They have the power to extinguish the Dragon Fire," Tecna elaborated. "Based on the research I conducted and cross-referenced with Timmy, they're the key to taking down Baltor!"

That caught everyone's attention.

"Like," Musa piped up, sticking her head into the common room, "_defeating him_?"

"They're the key to stopping Baltor." Tecna confirmed. "We can finally end this war."

Next to me, Flora gave me a stunned yet thrilled look. "Bloom, isn't that awesome news?"

I hadn't been able to breathe since Tecna said 'Water Stars.' The logical side of me was slapping me in the face, screaming at me to react as naturally as possible. But, my emotional side was screaming back in fear of what this discovery meant, causing both to cancel out and leave me dumbfounded.

Ever since I'd read about them all those months ago, I'd forced myself to forget about them. The idea of Tecna learning about them and being able to figure out their location was preposterous. Trained researchers and wizards had spent hundreds of years looking for them. And a tech fairy still in school could find them in one night? It was insane.

Now I couldn't push the thought away. Tecna had found them. And the end of this war was coming a lot sooner than expected.

Faragonda's statement from a few nights ago lingered in my mind. If we obtained the Water Stars, I'd have no excuse to not destroy Baltor. Too many questions would be raised. Everyone was expecting me to be the one to end all of this due to my history with him. Everything would fall apart if I didn't go along with destroying him. And if I didn't destroy him . . . who knows what kind of catastrophe that would end in?

Shaking myself out of my frozen state, I simply nodded. "Yeah, that's great."

"Wait, if we use these things won't they hurt Bloom, too?" Layla pointed out.

Tecna shook her head. "They'll only affect the Flame they're being used on. In fact, the only way to use them is if they're activated by someone with the Dragon Fire."

"So, Bloom is the only one who can use them?"

_How fabulous_. _Today just keeps getting better and better._

"Alright then, let's go get them!" Musa shouted, jumping into action. "Where are they?"

"They're in a place called the Golden Kingdom," Tecna said, reading off the papers in her hands. "In order to reach the Golden Kingdom, however, we must go to the Red Tower, which is in Misty Forest on the other side of the Barrier of Magix."

"Sounds like a pain in the ass to get there. I'll call Riven."

"I thought you and Riven weren't on good terms?" Stella asked, perking up at relationship news.

"Doesn't mean I can't call him and tell him we need a ride."

We all gave each other uncomfortable looks, but didn't comment as she walked back into her room.

"Anyway, now that that tense conversation is over," Tecna said, "there are stipulations to getting inside the Golden Kingdom."

"Oh, for Arcadia's sake, of course there are!" Stella shouted.

"The door to get inside is extremely small. I suggest we use our miniaturization powers that come with our Enchantix to get in."

"How do you know all of this stuff?" I asked, interrupting her.

"Because, we learned most of this _stuff _while you were on Pyros." she told me. "Besides, most of this won't apply to you considering how your Enchantix powers are incomplete."

My heart gave a tiny squeeze. "Thanks for the reminder, Tec."

"Just keeping it real, as Musa would say. Next, on the door there's a scripture that says that only those with noble hearts and pure souls may enter. Therefore, we'll also have to use our Fairy Dust to erase all the darkness in our hearts."

"Wow, Tec, you're really just shoving all the salt you can into that wound, aren't you?" Stella commented, twisting finishing off the last of her nails.

"Is this your supposedly subtle way of telling me that I can't go?" I asked, feeling my heart squeeze a little more. "If it is, you really need to pack on more of the subtle."

"While your fighting skills are noteworthy, you would serve little purpose to our retrieval of the Water Stars," Tecna admitted. "And with your incomplete Enchantix, your fighting skills could also be diminished."

"In other words, you're going to be a nuisance." Stella summed up.

"That's not what I said!"

"It's what you implied."

"No, it's cool." I said, interrupting the two. "I've still got some catching up to do from my trip to Pyros anyway."

Flora concernedly frowned. "Do you want me to stay here with you?"

"I'll be fine! You all go have fun getting dangerous magical artifacts without me." The last thing I needed was someone staying here when I was just given an opportunity to go see Baltor practically whenever I wanted. And the sooner they left, the sooner I could come up with a way to tell him about this trip and everything else that had happened since the trip to the museum.

"Alright then!" Layla settled. "Let's go get some Water Stars!"

* * *

It wasn't twenty minutes after the girls had left to go to the Golden Kingdom when I received a text saying to meet someone in the woods outside of Cloud Tower, and it didn't take a genius to tell it was Baltor. And since I was alone, it was incredibly easy for me to sneak off to join him.

I had to focus intensely on our Dragon Fire connection to find him, but eventually found him around an hour later, standing outside the entrance to a cave.

"That was surprisingly quick," Baltor commented, leaning against the opening.

"The girls are gone. It's a lot easier to sneak out when no one's around." I shrugged. "Do you like your fancy new box?"

As per his wishes during our rendezvous at the Magix Museum, Baltor had gotten away with the Agador Box. I wasn't sure if he'd been spying on us all day or not, but somehow he'd managed to figure out that there was some kind of connection between Ophir and Layla and used it to his advantage, nearly killing Ophir in the process. Layla agreed to let Baltor get away with the box in exchange for Ophir's life.

"A hole hasn't been ripped in the fabric of time, so, yes."

I rolled my eyes. "So what's with this urgent meet-up?"

"Seeing as you won't have much to do for the next few hours or so, I thought we could go and finally have that chat with the Ancestresses."

My brow raised some. "Right now?"

"Unless you suddenly have something of utter importance to do rather than sneak into Cloud Tower." He stretched out his hand, offering it to me.

I smirked. "How could I pass up sneaking into Cloud Tower again?"

Baltor matched my smirk.

* * *

"Since when do you and the other goody two-shoes sneak into Cloud Tower?" Baltor inquired, conjuring a flame above us to shed some light in the dark underground.

"Freshmen year," I answered, looking around at the four different tunnels. The tunnels looked exactly as they had all those years ago with Stella, Knut, and the boys. The idea that it had already been three years since then blew my mind. "When the witches took over the school and summoned the Army of Decay, this was the only undetectable way in. It took a few hours for our guide to figure out where we were going, but it got us inside."

The cave that we'd met up at had been one of the many entrances to a set of tunnels that led to Cloud Tower, and their hidden crypt. Coincidentally, they'd been the same tunnels Knut had shown us during the battle with the Army of Decay so we could sneak into the school for witches to find the Dragon Fire.

"Yes, well, I don't plan to take a few hours to get inside. Nothing down here has changed in the last seventeen years."

"You've been here?" I asked, curiously.

"Multiple times. Back when I used to work for the Ancestresses we used these tunnels to smuggle magic and artifacts underground."

"We?" I repeated. "Like that colleague you mentioned?"

He nodded. "During the war with Sparx, we were allied with a group called the Wizards of the Black Circle. They're a group of fairy hunters set on capturing all the Earth fairies and ripping their powers from them to become the self-proclaimed rulers of Earth. They would've been particularly useful in the battle against Sparx if they hadn't decided to go back on their word to aid us. In fact, the Ancestresses might have won if they had stayed."

I shivered, my mind wandering to what could've happened if it had played out that way. "Why did they leave?"

"According to Ogron, they received word on a possible location of where the Queen of the Earth Fairies was hiding. Whether or not the lying, cheating bastard was telling the truth is give or take."

"Does he have a reputation for being a lying, cheating bastard?"

"An extensive reputation."

"Then why should we believe that this crypt place is going to help us?"

"Because Ogron knows better than to try and test me." he said, nonchalantly. "Moving on to more relevant topics, are you going to tell me what's going on in your head or are you just going to stay silent the rest of the time?"

I internally cursed. I knew that things were going too smoothly for me to just easily get away with not telling him about the talk I had with Faragonda. I'd been desperately trying to avoid it; but with the Dragon Fire connection and with how much better Baltor was at honing it than I was, that was a little hard to do.

"After the battle at the museum, Ms. F said she wanted to speak with me, and things got a little out of hand." I admitted, my eyes scanning over everything in the tunnel but him.

"And what does 'a little out of hand' mean, precisely?" I could already hear the protectiveness begin to slip into his voice.

I shied into myself some, weighing my options on what would happen if I just didn't say anything and changed the subject. "I'm not sure how, but she managed to get a hold of the security footage from when we were all in the museum." I said. "And we were on it."

There was a brief silence.

"What did she say?"

"She made me an offer." I began fighting off the hot, prickling sensation behind my eyes. "She said that she could convince the Council to help me earn my full Enchantix if I . . ."

He came to an immediate halt, grabbing me by the arm. "I'm not saying what I'm about to say to sway your opinion. I'm saying this to make you understand that all she's doing is playing you." he firmly said. "Your full Enchantix can only be earned by sacrificing yourself for someone from your home realm, correct? How do you think the Magix Council is going to accomplish that? Do you think they're just going to make someone from Sparx magically appear? No. She's using me as bait to take care of you."

I furrowed my brow. "What do you mean?"

"Faragonda knows you; she's playing on your weakness."

"My weakness?"

His grip on me tightened slightly, like he was about to say words he'd been holding in forever. "Never mind," he said, letting me go. "Forget I said anything."

I opened my mouth to ask what the hell he was talking about, but he already walking past me, heading back on the path we'd been walking on. After I paused to try and comprehend what he was saying, I ran to catch up with him.

"Okay, I'm not sure what all that was about, really. And, to be quite honest, I'm not sure that I want to, because it didn't sound very good." I said. "But, just so we're on the same page, I already figured out that the Magix Council wasn't going to do jack for me."

"Oh?" he inquired, a curious gleam in his eye. "And how did you come to that conclusion?"

With my next step, I kicked a clump of dirt. "I know that it's not right in everyone else's eyes, but I don't want to kill you."

He was quiet for a moment. "That'll be sure to gain you a few enemies."

I shrugged my shoulders. "It's not like I don't already have a million of them."

We were thrown back into temporary silence, unsure of what to say after that.

"Do you know anything about the Ancestresses?"

My brain froze. "Not really," I said, thinking on it more. "All I know is that they were really powerful witches who wanted the Dragon Fire, waged a war with Sparx, and were defeated."

"I figured as much," he said. "There are three of them, all ancestors of Icy, Darcy, and Stormy. First, there's Tharma, ancestor of Stormy. She can summon the most threatening storms on a whim. Then there's Lydia, Darcy's ancestor. She's the mother of darkness, and will use it to her advantage if you let her." He hesitated. "And then, there's Belladonna."

"Icy's ancestor?"

Baltor nodded. "She's the most powerful witch to ever exist. She's the dark counterpart to Arcadia, the first fairy. Her specialty is similar to Icy's, except more advanced. She was the one who cast Sparx into its eternal winter."

"She can freeze entire realms all by herself?" I asked, dumbfounded.

"She's particularly thorough."

Eventually, we reached a dead end. All that stood in front of us was a wall of dirt, without any sign of an entrance. Every other tunnel we'd tried freshmen year had always led somewhere (whether that somewhere be good or bad); however, I hadn't been paying much attention to where Baltor had been leading us. I wasn't even sure we'd taken anywhere close to the path I had with Stella and the others.

He suddenly stood in front of the wall, acting like he was blocking me from going further. "We don't have to do this."

I raised an eyebrow, confused by his random statement. "What?"

"If you're not comfortable with this, we don't have to. We can turn around and go back to the hideout and keep searching through the books if that's what you want."

"You're freaking me out; why are you saying that?"

He stepped forward to meet me and placed his hands on my shoulders. "Once we enter the witches' crypt and summon the witches, we have to stay in there. If we leave in the middle of it without conducting the spell, there's the potential of it releasing their essence into the real world. If you don't think you'll be able to handle it, you need to say so now."

I narrowed my eyes, teasingly. "Is that a challenge?"

To my surprise, he didn't break his serious expression.

"Baltor, I'm going to be fine," I attempted to convince him, rolling my eyes. "We're here to get answers, and I'm not leaving until we get some."

"Are you sure?"

Mimicking him, I raised my hands up to sit on his shoulders. "Yes, I'm sure. I'll be fine." My fingers slid down his arms, running over the leather of his coat. "Besides, I have you." I looked up at him, tilting my head down a bit. "Right?"

Immediately, his grip tightened. "You're always going to have me." he reassured. "I just want you to be sure about this."

"I am!" I said for what felt like the fiftieth time. "Now let's do the spell and get in there."

Baltor looked reluctant, but sighed, defeated. Reaching into the pocket of his coat, he pulled out a slip of yellowed paper and handed it to me. "I already know the spell, so all you have to do is repeat after me."

Opening the paper, my jaw dropped at the unfamiliar words. _Nos poenitentis, cum cordis humilitate super haec limina facere Elicio - In mirror'd forma apparent, inter mundos introitum in mundum._

"I'm sorry, why the hell wasn't this given to me like two weeks in advance? You want me to say all of this in one go?" I asked, holding it up. "_Correctly_?"

"Don't be such a drama queen," Baltor reprimanded. "It's not as if it's hard. Apparently old languages are something I'll have to teach you."

"Well then, you're going to be getting a lot of Harry Potter experiences where you want me to say Diagon Alley and I'm definitely not going to be in Diagon Alley by the end of it."

He gave me a blank look.

"It's an Earth thing!" I shouted, groaning.

* * *

It took me four tries to get the spell right.

The crypt looked nothing like how I'd imagined. I'd been expecting something similar to purgatory. But this was nothing like that. In fact, nothing was exactly what was there. We were surrounding by pitch blackness –above, below, and on all sides.

Baltor conjured another flame and let it hang about a foot above our heads. No amount of light though could expel the dark energy that wafted through the dense air. It was enough to make me have to fight back rising nausea.

"Are you sure we're in the right place?" I asked, fighting the cold that was trying to creep up on me.

"I think the darkness eating away at you right now should answer that." he said, apparently experiencing the same sensation as me. "_That _should answer it as well."

Looking to where he'd nodded, I felt every muscle in my body tighten.

Far off, I could make out three magnificently constructed thrones with three women perched in each of them. To my dismay, the Ancestresses had been inaccurately depicted. They were anything but three old hags with terrifying facial features and drab grey cloaks. Instead, they were extraordinarily beautiful, with a regal air to them that reeked of darkness. It was easy to tell the three apart –Belladonna in the center, Tharma flanking her right, and Lydia on her left. The three were eerily similar to Icy, Darcy, and Stormy, except for their ethereal beauty. The longer I looked at them, though, the more see-through they seemed to be. They were transparent; like ghosts.

It struck me that I was standing in front of the three witches who murdered my sister; quite possibly my parents, as well. Fury should've swelled inside me, but I was too frozen in place to reach anger. Instead, all I could wallow in was horror.

I trembled upon seeing the Ancestresses. The nausea I'd felt earlier slammed back into me like a knife to the gut. My knees grew weaker the longer I looked at them, sure to give out. But just when I thought I was going to collapse to the ground and crawl into myself, I felt a warm hand slip into mine.

Finally able to tear my eyes away, I looked down to see Baltor's gloved fingers entwining with mine. Bringing my eyes up, I saw his eyes trained on me. "Stay behind me," he muttered.

"Look who's come to pay us a visit, sisters!" Belladonna coldly announced as we took our time reaching them, her snow white hair piled on top of her head in a ponytail reminiscent of Icy's. She was wearing a ridiculously low cut deep navy colored gown with ice embellishments and tall, sharp icicles that thrust out of the shoulders so violently, I wondered if they were part of the dress or _her_.

"If it isn't the traitorous pet!" Tharma said, her lips curving into a wicked grin. She had on a large cape made out of black feathers, the collar towering over her frizzy dark hair. "Come to finally accept your fate?"

"I didn't summon you all for me." Baltor harshly snapped at her. "I'm here on other business. I've brought someone here who's been requesting an audience with you."

"We have no interest in whatever trick you have up your sleeve, Baltor." Lydia remarked in a bored tone. Her gown was the tamest of the three, but was so dark it was like I was looking through her and into the black abyss surrounding us.

I caught sight of a small smirk appear on his face. "Are you saying you're going to deny the chance to meet with the Crown Princess of Sparx?"

Belladonna practically leapt off her throne, eyes dangerously scrutinizing him. "The Crown Princess of Sparx?"

He stepped to the side, revealing me to them. I could almost feel myself become more unsafe the instant he let go of my hand.

The head of the Ancestresses moved her eyes onto me, her gaze narrowing. She slowly approached, surveying every inch of me. "Well, you're certainly a spitting image of Miriam." she remarked, coming to a halt. "No one could deny that lineage."

I resisted the urge to clench my fist.

There was the barest hint of a smirk on her face, knowing she'd hit a sore spot. "Now, tell me, why does the Crown Princess of Sparx want to meet with us?"

"She's here to –"

"Not you!" she shouted, silencing Baltor. "Her." She flicked a finger in my direction, her nail pointed into a claw.

Gathering what little courage I had, I bravely met her glare. "I'm here to ask about my parents. I want to know what happened to them."

They broke out into maniacal laughter. It echoed throughout the seemingly endless room, making it sound like there was a least a hundred of them.

"Do you want the truth or something that will simply comfort you?" Lydia drawled.

"Where are my birth parents?" I finally spat out, fed up with them.

Belladonna's ghostly face smirked, enjoying my rage. "Dead."

Ice gnawed through my stomach. A heavy weight sat on my chest, capturing my breath. I could only blink; the rest of my body losing its ability to move (not that I could feel it to even try). My mind went blank, the only word resonating in me being _dead_. Words were being thrown about around me, but I was too distracted to listen.

I'd tried to be a realist; anticipating this outcome. I knew the answer to this was going to be 50-50, and I shouldn't have relied on optimism. Optimism was for people with good luck. Something I had none of. Despite knowing that this was always a possible answer, however, I couldn't help but feel a small pain in my chest that reached deeper than my heart.

For three years I'd been searching for an answer. For three years, I'd clung onto what little hope there was of my birth parents being alive. It took three years to get here, and one four-letter word to shatter all of it.

"Oritel and Miriam are dead," Belladonna repeated more harshly towards Baltor just as I felt tears start to sting my eyes.

Lydia shrugged, "In a manner of speaking."

I snapped halfway out of it. "In a manner of speaking?"

Nothing was said. The only noticeable acknowledgement was Belladonna tossing an icy glare over at Lydia.

"Hey!" Stepping forward, I pulled away from Baltor. "I'm talking to you!"

Belladonna's cold gaze swept over to pierce into mine, appearing furious that I was taking the liberty to confront her informally.

"In a manner of speaking?" I reiterated, slowly feeling my confidence rise.

For a while, I thought she wasn't going to answer me. "They're exiled in a place outside of this dimension." Her sneer morphed back into a smirk noticing the hope building in my eyes. "With us."

Hope suddenly flared in my chest again. "Where is it?"

"A place you cannot go," Lydia stated.

"And that's all we will say." Tharma finished, a taunting grin on her face.

"No place is too far for me!" I argued, persistently. "Tell me where it is and I'll go there!"

Belladonna relaxed back in her chair, finding my reddening face entertaining. "We're done here."

"I'm not done with you!" I shouted, seething.

"How interesting," Tharma mulled, "because _we're_ done with _you_."

I could see I was losing their attention. That much was obvious –however, I wasn't sure I'd even gained Lydia's attention in the first place. As much as I wanted to persist in finding out where my parents were, I wasn't going to get anywhere with them on that alone.

"How is the curse broken?"

Lydia's gaze shot to me.

"What curse?" Belladonna inquired, annoyed that I was still there.

"The curse on Baltor," I clarified. "How do I break it?"

Her expression was pure shock. In fact, that was the expression of everyone in the room –including Baltor's.

The move was risky. But a risk was exactly what I needed. "How do I break the curse on Baltor?"

"The curse is dormant." Belladonna hesitantly admitted.

_Bloom, don't._

I shrugged off Baltor's mental message. "_Was_."

"Only we can activate the curse," she shot back, clearly offended that I'd chosen to challenge her word. "There's no other way that it could be activated; and we're in no position to act on the outside world."

"There's one other way."

Lydia turned to look at me, a knowing sparkle in her eyes. "But I think you already know that."

The insinuation threw us all into silence again.

"You don't break it; we do." Tharma bragged. She was enjoying plunging me into misery. I was surprised none of them made a stab at what had been revealed.

"Then break it." I demanded.

"You're in no setting to be barking orders, Princess!" Belladonna's voice boomed through the crypt. I felt a small shake in the ground under me, like a warning. "He was ours long before he was yours. And ours he will stay."

"You have no use for him now; you can't activate it yourself. You gain nothing!"

"We don't need to activate it; you already have, remember?" Tharma replied. "And that's all you had to do."

I furrowed my brow. "What do you mean?"

"We couldn't act on the curse dormant thanks to the Company of Light, but we can act on the activation."

I wasn't sure how many more times my stomach could drop.

"In a way we should be thanking you," she continued. "You just gave us our puppet back."

This was going anything but according to plan. My mind was racing, trying to comprehend what was going on. I'd only made things more complicated than before. My insatiable need for information sent us here, and that need just plunged us into dangerous territory.

I'd planned on bringing up the topic of the curse anyway, but this was the last thing I'd expected. If I'd known that this would be the Ancestresses' reaction, I would've kept my mouth shut and moved on. But then again, with my impulsiveness, there was no saying whether I would have or not. My determination always got the best of me, especially when it came to emotions.

"Let's test it out, shall we?" Belladonna said, forming a blood red orb in her hand.

"Be our guest," Lydia didn't refuse. "You did always used to hold the whip."

Something in me snapped at that remark. Without thinking twice, I leapt in front of Baltor. He tried to push me out of the way, but I didn't budge. "You're not getting to him without going through me first!"

Belladonna released the orb instantly. I didn't have the time to cringe or prepare for any sort of impact. All I could do was squeeze my eyes shut and quickly raise a shield I knew would do little to nothing against her magic.

The orb exploded at my feet, missing me by inches.

Confused, I dropped the shield and looked forward. Belladonna was in my face, seething. "I'm becoming sick of your family of martyrs!" she screeched. "Do you honestly think that we can only act on the curse from here? No matter where he goes, we can do whatever we want to him." I could swear it sounded like she growled. "Why don't we start with having him rip you limb from limb?"

"Belladonna."

I was shocked I heard Lydia over the sound of my heart pounding in my ears.

"She's not ours to deal with anymore, remember?" Lydia reminded her.

The fury in Belladonna's eyes remained, hand halfway raised to close around my neck. My eyes never broke away from hers, even when her hand began quivering. I could see how desperately she wanted to end me; I practically came here on a silver platter for her. But what Lydia said had created some kind of confliction in her.

Tightly clenching her hand, she brought it back down to her side and made her way back to her throne. She was fuming and by the scowl on her face, she wasn't masking her hatred towards me anymore.

"I suggest both of you leave before we change our minds." Lydia said. She was oddly merciful.

Baltor quickly grabbed my arm and pulled me away from them, barely knocking me out of my slightly dazed state. Before I knew it, we were back in the tunnel system despite me not remembering repeating the spell to leave.

Neither of us said anything as we made our way to the forest. I was too wrapped up in the events of what had happened in the crypt to speak. I thought I'd leave there with some kind of answer to my questions (not that I was able to ask all of them). Instead, we left with only a hint at my birth parents location and multiple death threats. And although I was frustrated by the lack of information I'd received, my only thoughts were of what Belladonna had said. The words that had struck fear in my chest not only for me, but for Baltor, as well.

_No matter where he goes, we can do whatever we want to him_.

* * *

_Wow, you know, I'd rather write another Royalshipping kiss scene than write the Ancestresses again. Like, you probably couldn't pay me enough to do this again. This was absolute hell for me, and I most likely will never attempt to do it again in this lifetime. _

_ So, it's been almost a month since I updated, and we reached a huge milestone. Apparently, this story now has more reviews than Leap of Faith (thanks ember). To be brutally honest, I didn't think I'd get this far (I didn't even think I'd reach 100 reviews). I wasn't expecting this kind of reaction from you guys when I posted this story. I thought everyone wasn't going to like it because of how drastically different my writing style has become since my hiatus, but I'm so glad that that's not what happened. Seeing how much you all like this story makes my day so much better, and I love reading every one of the lovely reviews you all post. You all are amazing, and I want to thank you now for reading this and putting up with all of my insane emotional drama that leaves you all in the dark for weeks at a time._

_ Also, there's been a major change to the lineup! There are not eight chapters left anymore! Nope! There are officially 4 chapters left! Yes, you heard me right, 4 (including the epilogue)! I know that's a very drastic cut, but I decided to rip out a bunch of unnecessary things that I'd previously included, and decided I wanted to focus on the major events. I'm not saying that the littler events aren't important, but I have enough in the 4 chapters I have left to be satisfied with how this story will end. _

_ And, regarding the events of this chapter, I cut out the scene where one person found out about Bloom's relationship with Baltor, mostly because the chapter was running long enough, and it wasn't a necessity to keep it. So, if you guys guessed that Ophir/Nabu was one of the ones to figure it out, congratulations, you were right! He was originally planned to find out, but unfortunately that precious cinnamon roll (too pure for this world) had to be cut for length purposes. There is a link on my profile to view it on tumblr, so just copy and paste that link in your search bar on your broswer and it'll take you straight to it. The next person to discover their relationship will make their appearance in the next chapter, so be ready for that! Bonus: that spell is actually a Latin translation for an incantation used in the television show Sleepy Hollow. Whether or not that's the legit translation, the world may never know. Thanks a lot for possible inaccuracies, Google. And, yes, I am aware that the Water Stars were not brought up to Baltor. That is for the next chapter, so wait for that._

_ I'm going to be truthful when I say that I actually had tears in my eyes when I was writing this chapter and the drafts for the remaining four. It really hit me a few days ago just how close we are to finishing this story and it actually makes me really sad. I never thought I'd reach the end of this (because I suck at finishing stories), and I hate to see it end. It's been almost a year since it came out, and it's been a great year of writing for me. And, I'll probably tear up again with each chapter left to post until I eventually start bawling in the epilogue. It's going to be one huge tear-fest, for you and for me. _

_ As always, I will go back through this chapter later to search for any grammatical errors that I need to correct. Plus, please leave a review for this chapter telling me what you liked, and I will see you in the next chapter as we begin our journey to the final four updates!_

_~Bloom_


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19**

"All of this is my fault."

My mind was nowhere and everywhere. A millions thoughts were thrashing around in my head, and none of them were good. Then again, whose thoughts would be good after an encounter with the Ancestresses?

Barely an hour had passed since we left the crypt in Cloud Tower, and neither of us had said a word. The walk back to the hideout was excruciatingly quiet; our footsteps barely registered any noise. But, there was no need to talk when there was nothing to talk about. Our actions in the crypt spoke for themselves.

We took to separate ends of the hideout once we were inside. Baltor silently tried to get me to sit down with him, but I'd stubbornly refused and stood facing the wall. I'd waited for him to drag me over to him, but he surprisingly didn't. I was thankful for that. I'd be shocked if I could ever look him in the eye again.

Baltor's curse being reenacted was my fault. And now it was my fault again that the Ancestresses knew full well about it, and we were at their mercy. At any time they could turn him. At any time I could easily lose him to them. At any time the demon could take over.

Guilt overwhelmed me. There were no other emotions in me. I was only predominately filled with guilt, followed by the faintest hint of anger at myself. Yet I could only focus on one thing at a time.

"This is not your fault," Baltor chided. Sensing footsteps behind me, his hands slid onto my shoulders, reassuringly.

"Yes, it is." I took a breath, closing my eyes. "If I'd just left well enough alone, I wouldn't have reactivated your curse, the Ancestresses wouldn't know about us, and we wouldn't be left standing around waiting for them to enact it and control you."

"But we got what we went there for." Baltor reminded me. "They gave us a foot in the door to finding your parents."

We did get decent information on Oritel and Miriam. That I couldn't deny. They were alive. That was the biggest piece of hope I'd ever gotten my hands on. I was ecstatic. But my anguish overwhelmed that excitement.

"And for what?" I asked, whirling around to face him. "You're now in danger of being under their control because I couldn't keep my mouth shut! I mean, they could enact it at any time and neither of us is going to be prepared!"

"However, they haven't enacted it; they're waiting for something."

"And we're left in the dark until they randomly decide to do it! What if they enact it five minutes from now?"

"Then you run."

I froze, processing his simple response. "Excuse me?"

Looking me straight in the eye, he didn't hesitate with his reiteration. "If you're here when they enact the curse, you run."

If my face could've fallen further, it would've in that moment.

He expected me to leave. His straightforward expression left me wondering if he expected me to leave out of fear or just because. But, either way, I'd never heard a more ridiculous answer.

"I'm not leaving you." I told him.

"This isn't up for debate, Bloom." he argued. "We both know what'll happen if you're in the same vicinity as me when they enact it. Therefore, the second they do, you have to leave."

Instinctively, I tightly latched onto the sleeves of his coat. My hands shook, and looking down, I could see my knuckles turn snow white. Shutting my eyes, I could feel the beginning of a familiar throbbing headache.

"Hey," he moved his hands up to cup my face. "Look at me."

I was reluctant, but opened my eyes and moved them up to meet his.

"I'm going to be fine," he reassured me, his thumb stroking my cheekbone. "All the Ancestresses have the ability to do is activate and deactivate the curse. They can't do anything else to me."

"That doesn't make me like it anymore."

"You don't have to like it." His lips turned into a slight frown. "You just have to do it."

Opening my mouth to argue with him further, I was interrupted with a sharp vibrate in my back pocket. Pulling out the phone I'd spaced out on, I quickly glanced at the incoming message. For a moment, when I saw Stella's name, I went to turn it off. However, the longer I looked at it, the more I realized what was on the screen.

"Shit."

As if this day couldn't get any worse.

The phrase, '_We got the Water Stars!' _along with a picture of Stella shooting the camera a smile and displaying the six magical items they'd obtained. It looked like there were remnants of tear marks on her face, like she'd been crying. I didn't know what could've made her cry, but my attention was elsewhere.

Yet again, another situation where I shouldn't have been shocked, but I was. In retrospect, I should've slapped myself for being so ignorant. My friends were the Winx Club. The day they fail at a mission is the day the universe implodes.

"What's wrong?"

I aimed the screen towards him, showing him the picture. "They got the Water Stars."

He barely glanced at it, rolling his eyes at Stella's ridiculousness. "We'll figure it out. Don't get too caught up on it."

Putting the phone down, I shot him a look. "When?" I asked. "When are we going to figure out? When we're in the middle of battle and they hand me the Water Stars and tell me to use them on you? Because that's what's going to happen from here on out, and I can't do that!"

"I don't have to steal magic every day, Bloom." he smoothly said. "Until we can come up with a plan on how to handle this, I'm not going to put you in a situation to where you might have to use them around me."

I felt a tiny bit of relief; although, there was one thought that nagged at the back of my mind. "What if they turn you before then?"

Baltor shook his head, letting his hands fall down by his sides. "I don't think we'll have to worry about that for a while. The Ancestresses like to jump the gun, but they wouldn't enact it this early. They'll probably wait for a moment when we're –"

The air around us seemed to drop several degrees when he cut himself off. His eyes bore into the wall behind me, and momentarily I thought he was going to burn a hole through the stone. Taking a glance, his hands were balled into fists and I could just barely see them shaking. His breaths became louder, more shallow; closely resembling if he was in pain.

"Baltor?" I softly asked.

He didn't answer me.

Looking up at him, I could see his eyes were bloodshot. I swallowed hard, afraid of what would happen next.

With shaky hands of my own, I slowly reached for his hand. It was a risk, but risks were the last things on my mind.

Immediately, he pushed my hand away and shoved me in the direction of the portal that led out. "Get out." His voice was low, dangerous.

Shaking my head, I refused. "I'm staying."

"Bloom, you need to leave while I can still fight this thing off. I don't want you to see what's about to happen." he snapped. "Now go!"

I remained still, my nails digging into the palms of my hands.

"Go!" he shouted, teeth clenched. The intensity of his growl made me jump.

"No!" I yelled. "I'm not leaving you!"

Grabbing me by the back of my shirt, he dragged me to the portal, struggling against my thrashing. I tried fighting back harder, but I remembered that one wrong move and my shirt could be not on my person.

"I'll be fine." he grunted, pushing me towards the opening. "But if you stay here any longer you may not be."

"How do I know that you're going to be fine?"

He clutched onto the wall, his hand shaking. "You don't."

My heart squeezed painfully. My logical side knew I should've run out the second he started to change; although, my Dragon Fire and the throbbing in my chest told me to stay.

I shook my head, feeling my lower lip begin to tremble a little. "I don't like this." The more I looked at him, the more I could see beads of sweat building on his forehead.

"You don't have to like it. You just have to leave." He paused, grimacing painfully. "I can't fight it much longer."

It took every ounce of strength in me to turn around. I stared at the portal, attempting to concentrate on putting one foot in front of the other. Yet, no matter how deeply I concentrated on it, my feet wouldn't move.

There was something tickling at the back of my mind. I wasn't quite sure exactly what, but I knew I was supposed to say something. The chances of us meeting on good terms again after this were almost slim to none, and I wasn't going to leave without saying _something_.

I didn't know how long I stood there, gaping, before Baltor suddenly grabbed me. Jerking me to him, I briefly panicked, until I looked into his eyes. There was an emotion swimming in his eyes that I'd never seen before; that I might never see again.

Then he spoke.

My heart felt like it stopped in my chest. Numbness spread through my limbs.

Not a second later, he shoved me into the portal.

* * *

Pain shot through me when I hit the ground. Almost every inch of my skin scraped across broken twigs scattered through the grass, cutting into me. Luckily from what I saw, the cuts weren't deep enough to cause any real damage. In a few hours, most would be gone and I'd only be left with some pretty serious bruises. Bruises were something I could live with; the silence surrounding me was not.

Leaping to my feet, I ignored my injuries and scanned around me. I was back in Gloomywood, just outside the hideout. The tree with the portal was only a few meters away from me, looking just as normal as the rest. Only a select few of us knew better.

Stomping over to the trunk, I placed my hand on the rough bark and tried to summon the portal to enter. There was no way in hell I was letting him go after what he said. If he thought I was going to leave and act like everything was alright after _that_, he had another thing coming.

A few seconds passed.

Then a minute.

Then two minutes.

"Come on," I muttered under my breath, quickly growing frustrated. "You're not getting off that easily."

Another couple of minutes passed, and still nothing.

I slammed my hand against the tree, angrily. Chips of wood flew everywhere. Tears began stinging my eyes again.

"Baltor?"

The only sound I could hear was birds chirping off in the distance.

"Baltor!" I screamed, pounding my fist on the tree. "I know you can hear me!"

To anyone else, I knew I probably looked ridiculous. I didn't doubt I appeared insane, mercilessly beating on a tree and screaming at it. I didn't care. All I cared about was the man on the other side. Or, God forbid, the_ beast_ on the other side.

"Baltor," I said, quietly. "I know you, and I know you can fight this. You've done it before, and you can do it now. I know you can."

Nothing.

"Please." I rested my forehead on the tree. "Baltor, I can't fight you."

The silence around me was killing me almost as much as the silence from him.

I set my jaw, fighting back tears. "You can't just say shit like that!" I shouted. "You can't just say shit like that and then shut me out! That's not how it works!"

Again, nothing.

The tear marks on my cheeks burned. "Baltor, you can't leave me like this!" My voice cracked. "Not now! Not after that!"

My head shot up at the sound of a branch snapping. Far off to the right, I could see Darcy standing there, watching me intently. I wanted to ask how long she'd been there, but I couldn't find any words to use.

"I told you this would end badly." she commented, adjusting her glasses on the bridge of her nose. "You have no one to blame but yourself."

I wanted to snap back, come off with something snarky, anything. But, I felt nothing. I didn't have the energy to engage in the fight she was provoking. All I wanted to do was sit there and mope.

"Darcy, I'm not in the mood to –"

I never got to finish.

At that moment, a huge wave of dark energy radiated from the tree, knocking both of us to the ground. The amount of darkness in the wave was enough to make me want to vomit right then and there; darker than anything I'd felt when I had been under Darkar's control.

Darcy whirled on me instantly. "What did you do?" she furiously asked.

Just as I was about to refute her, the portal reopened in front of me. The anticipation was enough to make my heart briefly stop. I intently watched it for a few seconds, just staring at the swirling mass, until a shadowy shape appeared in the midst.

My heart swelled with hope.

An arm swung out of the portal, making Darcy and I pale. It wasn't human. Frankly, I wasn't sure what it was. It was abnormally large, the skin on it leathery and the color of an easily recognizable coat. Deep black talons tipped each of the demonic fingers, delving deep into the tree and creating long, jagged scratch marks.

Reacting on the fearful adrenaline coursing through my veins, I leapt to my feet and with a heavy heart, took off. Glancing over to Darcy, I saw she'd already left. I wanted to stay and help, but based on what I'd witnessed, Baltor had been right. I didn't stand a chance.

That curse was much worse than Baltor had described. What I'd been victim to during our first kiss was clearly a basic understanding of a much grander idea. When Baltor said demon, he'd literally meant demon. The Ancestresses somehow had the power to morph him into one. I didn't want to think about how excruciating that must've been.

I didn't know what I was going to do. He was bound to be more lethal in that form, putting him as a threat that I had no idea how to contain. And the moment he hit the public, the only solution anyone else would think of would be death. And now that we had the Water Stars . . .

All the air in my lungs left my body as I collided with something hard. At first, I thought I was just that dumb to run into a tree. Running had never been my strong suit, and running in the woods while trying to focus on whether or not a demon was chasing after you was _definitely_ not my strong suit.

But, when what I first thought was a tree began moving, I was petrified.

"Hey, Flo!" I exclaimed, breathing heavily and trying to lean casually against one of the trees. "What are you doing here?" The muscles in my legs burned from all the running, making my knees tremble.

The nature fairy gave me an odd look. "No one knew where you were when he came back, so I followed your magic trail to try and find you." she replied, glancing around. "Why are _you_ here?"

"Oh, you know me," I laughed. "I just _love_ a sense of adventure!"

I looked over my shoulder to see if Baltor had heard my nervous yelling, hoping to not alert him to where I was.

"No, you don't." Flora said, shaking her head. "Never mind. Now, what are you doing out here, sweetie?"

"Just taking a walk!"

Flora's brow furrowed, more confused than before. "In Gloomywood?"

"Yes, Gloomywood! Gloomywood is an acceptable place to be! Gloomywood is great! I love Gloomywood! Who doesn't love Gloomywood?" I shouted, desperately.

"You." she reminded me. "You hate Gloomywood. Ever since freshmen year, you've always said how much you hated the woods because you always feel buggy after being in them." Flora crossed her arms. "Bloom, what is going on? You've been acting weird ever since Baltor isolated you on that column a few months ago." she said, concerned. "You get a strange look on your face every time someone mentions him, and I know you've been sneaking out in the middle of the night.

"Did he say something to you?" she continued. "Something about your parents? Or you?"

"No, Flo, nothing happened." I told her, firmly.

"And I don't believe you!" she replied, upset. "Now, we're not leaving till you fess up and tell me what's going on!"

"Flo, please, just drop it!"

"No, Bloom! I've been letting a lot of things drop these past few months, but not anymore!"

"We can't talk about this here!"

"Why, it's not like Baltor's here!"

I wanted to refute her statement, but deep inside, something told me that I shouldn't.

Her eyes widened, comprehending my silence. " . . . Is he?"

A beastly roar tore through the air, making us both freeze up. I cringed, fearfully. In my head, I tried to deny what was obvious. I didn't want to admit that I knew exactly who that was.

Flora gave me a terrified look. "Was that him?"

Agonizingly, I nodded.

Her expression morphed to one of confusion. "Bloom, how do you know that's Baltor?"

I was trapped in a corner. There was no good option. It was either turn around and run towards Baltor who would most likely tear me to shreds, or give in and finally exploit myself.

"When we get to Alfea, I'll explain everything. But we need to leave now."

* * *

"How long has this been going on?"

When Flora and I had returned to Alfea, we'd lucked out. The girls had all gone to bed, too deep in sleep to hear us come in. I voted on just going to bed as well, but Flora began interrogating me before I could change into my pajamas.

"Um, a while, I guess." I replied, quickly yanking on a pair of sweatpants.

"Like a few weeks or a few days?"

I hesitated, nervously. "Since Stella's Princess Ball."

Her jaw dropped in shock. "You've been hiding this for _months_? How are you even able to do that?"

"I'm really good at what I do."

Flora shook her head, still comprehending the information. "So, you knew who he was before the whole Tides thing?"

"No, it wasn't like that, I swear!" I assured, protectively. "I had no idea who he really was or what he was doing when I was on Solaria."

"But you did when you two talked on Tides."

I laughed quietly to myself, remembering the heated argument Baltor and I had had on the column. "Yeah, that was fun. Nothing screams romantic like finding out your sort-of boyfriend kind of helped destroy your planet."

The conversation felt like it only happened yesterday. It didn't seem possible that literally months had passed. So much had occurred since then; the passage of time had never entered my mind. I'd been more focused on other things. Well, _one_ thing.

"I think I know the answer to this," she said after a few moments of awkward silence, "but does Sky know?"

"Not directly."

She gave me a blank stare.

"I've talked to him about issues that I've had with Baltor, but I never actually told Sky his name." I elaborated.

Flora frowned her brow. "Issues?"

I shifted, my mind flashing to right before Baltor threw me out of the hideout. "I'd rather not talk about it right now." I said. "Besides, we barely had any issues. We were mostly okay."

"Okay?" she questioned. "That's it?"

I paused. "Is okay not good?"

"Okay is okay. But you wouldn't describe it as anything better than that?"

Honestly, I was stunned by how normal Flora was acting. I was expecting her to freak out on a much higher level, and to be frank, I flinched every time she moved her hands, waiting for a slap to the arm. "We're just really good more than friends. It's not like we're dating."

Her jaw dropped. "Really good more than friends?"

Damn.

"What does that even mean?"

Shrugging, I could feel my cheeks redden. "I don't know! Like, we're really good friends, but we're kind of a little more than friends, but we don't exactly know how far ahead of friends we are."

She continued to stare blankly at me.

"I mean, I guess if things went that way, I wouldn't say no to being his girlfriend. At least, I think I wouldn't."

The longer I tried to mentally piece together my answers, the more I realized that I hadn't taken the time to truly think about it. Ever since I divulged the Shadow Haunt issue to him, I'd felt intimately closer to him. I wanted to say that we were definitely more than friends, but I couldn't escape this sense of denial that I unexplainably felt. It was as if there was something inside me pulling me back, not wanting me to take that next step with Baltor.

I'd always wondered what Baltor and I would be if we didn't have to worry about the curse. Would I still feel this way or would we actually have a legitimate label? So many things had the potential to change. There were so many what-if situations it made my head begin to throb.

"Then why were you running away?" she asked, warily. "If you two are on the verge of being in that kind of relationship, shouldn't you be running _towards_ him?"

Dread fell over me. Standing up, I walked over towards the bay window and sat down, staring out at the blackness. I could just barely make out the miles and miles of trees that made up the woods. It seemed relatively quiet.

I wanted to go back to the hideout. I wanted to make sure he was okay. I knew physically he was okay; but mentally he was definitely screwed up. All I could think about was how he had been after I'd kissed him. For lack of a better word, he'd become a monster. And that's what he'd become now. If I went anywhere near him, he was sure to try and destroy me. There was no doubt in my mind. But, that didn't ease my eagerness to take Tecna's barrier buster and run to him.

"When Baltor was working for the Ancestresses, they placed a curse on him. To make a long story extremely short, it basically made him half-demon. And, whenever the demon side of him is active, his target is to kill." I paused. "More specifically, to kill the wielder of the Dragon Fire."

Her face blanched slightly. "So, that thing we heard in Gloomywood . . ."

I nodded. "He told me to run." My eyes shot up to the stars that dotted the sky, hoping that they would stop the tears that were beginning to form. "I didn't want to, but he threw me out and shut off the portal to get to him. And then what he said . . ."

"Well, it sounded like he got out." Flora concluded, sitting down next to me. She opened her mouth to say something, but then she closed it, and out of my peripheral vision, I saw her frown. "Bloom, no."

I shifted my gaze to her. "What?"

"I know that look on your face, Bloom. You're not going back out there."

"I just want to know that he's okay!" I said, desperately. "Just let me go for like an hour!"

"No!" she denied, frantic. "If he's in that demonic state right now, all he's going to do is try and kill you. I know that you care about him a lot, Bloom. I get that. You might not think I do, but I can see it in your eyes."

I frowned, turning back to the window.

"I can see that whatever he said really got to you. You don't have to tell me what it is, if you don't want to. But, you can't let it consume you. You have to be rational about this."

"Nothing's rational about what he said."

She sighed. "He's not in control. When people aren't in control, they tend to do things that they regret. Don't make him one of those people."

I frowned and went back to facing the glass. She shook her head at my silence, knowing she couldn't change my mind if she wanted to.

"Stella told me she messaged you about the Water Stars."

My stomach twisted. I'd completely forgotten about them. I'd been so wrapped up in explaining everything to Flora my mind had erased my biggest fear.

What I'd shouted at Baltor before hadn't been a lie. I didn't have the heart to genuinely fight him. Actual combat was something that we'd never done. Even with my Enchantix, I didn't know if I could beat him. With all the magic he'd acquired (despite my constant nagging), he was more than capable of beating me. But, with the Water Stars . . .

"They have the ability to kill him." she reminded me.

The harsh four letter word stung.

"The others are going to have me use them on him." I concluded. "And with Baltor currently under the curse, I don't have a plan to avoid it." My heart felt like it fell down a flight of stairs. "He always had a plan."

Hesitantly, she placed a hand on my knee. "We'll figure something out. If I've learned anything these past few years, it's that we should always have hope. Even when the odds aren't in your favor, you can never lose hope."

I shook my head. "That's a lot easier to say whenever you're not the one who has a demon for a kind-of boyfriend."

"Try to get some sleep." Flora said. "From what I'm guessing, we're going to have a not so fun next couple of days."

I didn't leave the window for a good hour or two. There was no hope of sleep for me. I couldn't keep calm enough to even think about sleeping. All I could focus on was Baltor, and quite possibly the last words he'd ever say to me.

_I love you_.

* * *

_*peers around corner* Heeeyyy, guys! It's kinda been a while! Like, a long while. A long, long while._

_Let me just start off by saying that this chapter was originally planned to go up much sooner (like many of the other chapters); however, I had a serious family emergency come up a few weeks ago that resulted in a very near and dear family member's passing. And I just so happened to be the one who answered the phone call that described that said family member didn't have a heartbeat and was being sent to the hospital, so, to be honest, you guys, that really fucked me up. I've been trying to get a grip and get back into the swing of things, but when you listen to a phone call like that and then get the news that a close family member passed away, it's not the easiest thing in the world. In fact, it really sucks and involves a lot of emotional pain and, in my case, a very mild case of what's probably PTSD. But, like I said, I'm trying my best to get through this, but I can't guarantee any set update dates from here on out._

_Moving on to more cheerful news, however, September 23 marks the one-year anniversary for Broken Pieces! Panic! This story was supposed to be finished by September 23, but clearly that did not work out as planned. Oh well. I'm happy with what I've done so far. I think I'm okay with it. At least, I'd hope I'm okay with it._

_And, yes, we're getting to the final countdown! We only have 3 (count them: 3!) chapters remaining of this fic! There are two legitimate chapters and one epilogue left to write and this story will be complete. And before, I plan to make this the most heart-wrenching trip you all have ever been on. I thought about the ending long and hard (literally for weeks), and I'm satisfied with how it's going to end. You all probably won't be; you all will probably cuss me out into the next century. But, no one knows how it's going to end (even ember, so don't try to ask her), and I plan to keep it that way until the epilogue makes its magical debut! A lot of shit is going to happen between now and then, and it's going to be a very painful journey._

_Anyway, I'm going to continue my mission of staying up till 3 o'clock in the morning to buy a Hocus Pocus Winifred Sanderson t-shirt from the Disney Store, so I'm going to go suffer for a while in a pile of Kleenex because I'm literally allergic to being outside for more than half an hour. I'll probably work on Chapter 20 (dear sweet Jesus 20) while I'm waiting. As always, please leave a review if you liked it, I'll correct any grammatical errors I may have skipped over another time, and I will see you all in the next chapter as we start the grand finale!_

_~Bloom_


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20**

For someone who couldn't swim and had an affinity for fire, you'd think I wouldn't go to a lake for reprieve.

It'd been almost six days since Baltor had been under the Ancestresses' curse. During those few days, I hadn't heard a single thing. There were no news stories saying that cities had been destroyed. No more planets had reported any major spells stolen. Just nothing.

Normally, silence would be alright with me. However, in this situation, it was the opposite. I desperately wanted news –any kind of news. I just wanted something so I knew he was alright. With silence, I was blind. I didn't even have the option to make a valid guess with silence. All I could do was sit around and wait for him to show up.

_If_ he showed up.

For the majority of the past six days, I'd spent my time at Lake Chrysalis. It was still in the forest, but it wasn't so deep into it that Flora had to follow me. She'd been tailing me like a watch dog ever since I'd returned and told her about Baltor and I, especially when she knew I'd expressed an interest in going back out and finding him. Her eyes watched my every move, and if I had any plans to leave the grounds, she wanted all the details about where I would be and the times for everything I was doing.

Therefore, I determined Lake Chrysalis as a decent middle ground. The lake was close enough to Alfea yet still had me somewhat in the woods where I could at least hear what was going on around me. I'd considered trying to use the Voice of Nature that Palladium had taught us about freshmen year, but I was too stressed out to focus on anything other than Baltor.

_I love you_.

I was still reeling from that. I didn't think I'd ever get over it. It was amazing how three simple words had the ability to ruin your entire life.

Of all the times he could've admitted something as intense as that, he had to pick the most inopportune moment. I shouldn't have felt as angry as I was; this kind of situation was typical for me. No matter how hard I tried to not feel pissed about it, though, I couldn't. Instead, I wanted to lash out and send out a power blast that would burn down half the forest.

It wasn't fair.

Baltor didn't get to say that and just leave me like he did.

I didn't even get the chance to say anything back.

If I'd had the chance to reply, what would I say? I'd been too stunned from it he'd have had to give me at least five minutes to comprehend what he'd said. But, then again, maybe that was the point of what he said. Maybe he'd spoken for the both of us.

My conversation with Sky came to mind. Was that really how I felt? Was what I'd been feeling towards Baltor really _love_? Something that serious between us seemed absurd –laughable. However, I couldn't find another word to truly describe what we had. Which only left one question: Was I in love with Baltor?

"He's only trying to protect you."

My moment of peace disturbed, I peeked out of the corner of my eye to see Flora sit down beside me.

"He's vulnerable and he knows it's too dangerous for you to be around him right now." she continued.

"That's not the problem, Flo." I said, turning my gaze back to the lake. I barely recognized my own voice. "It's been almost a week. I don't know where he is. I don't know if he's okay."

"I'm sure he's fine." she reassured. "He can handle himself."

"You don't know he's fine." The longer I stared off into the water lapping at the ground inches away from me, the more vivid the images of the nightmarish demonic hand clawing its way out of the hideout became.

She sighed, touching the water with her toe.

"I told you I'd be back in a few hours." I said, wondering why she'd come.

"I know. Stella dragged everyone out for a shopping trip though, and I thought you might need some moral support. You've been coming out here every day."

I blinked, trying to rid the images from my brain.

Flora looked at me. "I've always liked Lake Chrysalis. It's so serene and the vibes from the surrounding nature –"

"Why are you so okay with this?"

She froze after my interruption, furrowing her brow.

"Me and Baltor," I clarified. "Why are you so okay with it?"

For a few moments, she didn't respond. A thoughtful expression overtook her one of confusion. "If it were any other situation," she said after a minute. "I would slap you all the way to Ohm and back. I've seen a change in you, though, Bloom. I see something in your eyes that I haven't seen in a long time."

"What's that?" I asked.

The nature fairy shot me a weak smile. "Happiness.

"I haven't seen you like this since before the thing with Darkar." she elaborated. "After everything you've been through, you deserve to be happy." She paused. "The only factor that changed since last year is Baltor. Ever since then, you've been better; a lot better. If he makes you happy, then I'm happy for you."

A sense of relief and hope washed over me. I was relieved that Flora was accepting of whatever it was Baltor and I had; however, I was more hopeful of the other girls accepting what we had. If Flora was capable of handling the news, surely the others would be at least half that.

Maybe.

"But, you know, if he is your boyfriend, you could've asked him nicely to stop attacking us."

I laughed, switching my gaze over to the trees on the other side of the lake. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't hoping that Baltor would walk out from between them. "He's not my boyfriend; we're just _something_."

"The way you were reacting last night wasn't the reaction of someone who's 'just something' with someone else." she said.

Dear God, even Flora was catching on.

Was I the only one late to the l-word party?

"He said something to you, didn't he?" Flora asked, noticing my lack of a response. "Last night you said he did. You seemed really shook up by it."

"He said the l-word!" I blurted.

She raised an eyebrow.

Exasperated, I combed a hand through my hair. "He said the l-word –the really serious l-word."

Still she showed no signs of recognition.

"Sky and I had been close for almost two years before he said it." I explained. "Baltor and I have only been whatever we are for not even a year. It doesn't make sense." A laugh of desperation escaped my throat. "Nothing about the two of us makes sense! I'm supposed to hate his guts and want to kill him on sight and same goes for him with me!"

Realization gradually set in Flora's expression. "But now that he said what he did . . ."

Tears of frustration pricked my eyes.

Immediately, her hand comfortingly rested on my shoulder. "Well, nothing's set in stone until one thing is for certain."

I glanced over at her, curiously.

"Do you love him, too?"

Dread punched me. My worst fear verbalized.

My inner confliction hit me harder, hating that I was cornered like this. I was just as clueless as I'd been minutes ago.

All I could do was shrug. "I don't know."

The world went silent.

Despite how emotionally traumatic the subjects we were talking about were, it felt good to talk to Flora about everything. Aside from the one conversation I'd had with Sky on the hovercraft, I hadn't spoken to anyone else about it –not even Kiko who couldn't speak. Letting everything out to her was relieving. More specifically, it was freeing.

I didn't dare tell her about our kiss yet, though. In our current situation, telling her that would only make things worse. I was trying to get her to accept whatever we had. The last thing I wanted was for us to take two steps back.

"Why are you so scared to say it back?"

Flora's remark threw me for a loop.

Catching my astonished look, she clarified. "You obviously have intense feelings for him, Bloom. Deep inside you know you feel the same way back. So why are you so scared to do it?"

There were a million reasons I could've listed. No matter how hard I tried, there was never just one reason. It was innumerable. Granted, most of them were personal issues; however, outside forces were more prominent, presently.

"Ms. F knows." I divulged, reluctantly. "She knows about us."

Flora's eyes grew large enough to nearly consume her face.

"She gave me an ultimatum," I said. "Stay with him and be reported to the Council, or kill him."

My path hadn't purposely crossed Faragonda's again since then. Occasionally, I'd pass the headmistress in a hallway on the way to class, but other than those incidents, we hadn't spoken to each other. Neither of us would even look the other in the eye.

I knew she was waiting for the opportune moment for me to face her ultimatum. She was probably ecstatic that I was suffering right now. With the Water Stars I'd have no excuse not to kill Baltor. I'd end up exposing myself but not using them on him, leaving her completely out of the revelation. She would never be found out, and her problem of me would be taken care of. It was an impeccable plan.

Shaking my head, I squinted as the light from the sun reflected off the water into my eyes. "I can't kill him, Flo."

"There would be too many questions if you didn't." she pointed out. "And, either way, if you destroy him or if he dies some other way, you have to move on from him. You can't let it affect you."

Astonished, I furrowed my brow. "I can't just move on from him in five minutes, Flora. It's not like he's some random stranger I met on the street."

"I know. And if he dies it'll be hard. It will hurt, and you'll probably do a lot of stupid things." She tucked a hair behind her ear. "I don't like being a downer, Bloom. I really don't. And I'm not against you being with him. But, we have the Water Stars now. The fights we're going to have are going to become more violent. They'll escalade to something worse than just shooting magic at each other and it'll either be you or him in the end." My stomach dropped at what she was referring to.

"What makes you think I'd fight back?"

"I don't think you would fight back."

I gave her a confused look.

"But, I know that you will come out of that fight. He'll snap into control, even if it's only for a second, and end it before you can blink."

My throat tightened. My lower lip began to tremble and I bit down on it as hard as I could. "Maybe I do fight back," I manage to choke out, desperate. "What then?"

Flora's expression was sympathetic. "The endings are all the same, Bloom."

Each word she said cracked my soul apart piece by piece. It became clear to me that I'd been in a state of denial since Baltor had disappeared. I wanted to cling onto the idea that this was going to have a happy ending. If I just believed that he was okay somewhere, this would all blow over and everything would return to normal.

But this was reality.

Reality doesn't have happy endings.

Flora pulled me into a hug instantly when she saw the tears begin to stream out of the corners of my eyes.

"I'm scared, Flo." I admitted, quietly.

"I know, sweetie." She hugged me a little tighter. "I know."

She let me stay like that for a while. I didn't know how long we sat there, but I didn't stop crying for a single second of it. I didn't think I ever would. Something told me that crying was going to be the only thing I'd be doing for quite some time.

"The trees are nervous," Flora said, breaking our hug. "They're telling me people are coming."

"Bloom! Flora!"

Turning to look behind us, we saw the girls and Helia frantically running towards us. Standing up with Flora, I quickly wiped the tears off my face to look as normal as I could within three seconds.

"We have to go right now!" Musa exclaimed, brow furrowed furiously.

"What's going on?" Flora asked, immediately rushing to Helia's side.

Helia looked extremely worse for wear. His long dark blue ponytail was a mess and blood spattered his blue and white specialist uniform. The moment I layed eyes on the stains an awful feeling immersed my heart.

"Sky and the others," he said, breathing heavily as they all came to a stop. "They're gone."

Flora and I were silent, struggling to comprehend.

"What do you mean?" she asked, speaking for the both of us.

"We were ambushed," Helia said. "We were all scouting out Metamor Lake in Gloomywood for Baltor when we heard someone trapped under some fallen trees." First mistake. "Brandon and Riven went to move one when the explosion happened." He shook his head, pressing on his temple. "I don't know how long I was out, but when I came to the others were gone except for Baltor."

I perked up, approaching him rapidly. "You saw him?"

He nodded. "He's stronger than he ever has been; I'm surprised he spared me at all."

I opened my mouth to speak again, but Flora quickly interrupted me. Frustration hit me despite knowing it was probably for the best I didn't go too much into questioning Helia.

"Why did he spare you?" Flora inquired, concerned for her boyfriend.

"He wanted me to be his 'errand boy' and deliver messages for him." he answered. "He said that if you all ever wanted to see the others again to meet him on Tides."

"Which doesn't make sense," Layla mused, frowning. "Baltor dresses old-fashioned but parlays aren't his type."

"So then why would he want to meet?" Musa asked.

Glancing back to Helia, I saw a flicker in his eyes. He began to fidget, almost like one would when they were fighting back the urge to say something. It was clearly a struggle with him, and considering his humble personality, I didn't doubt it.

"Helia," I spoke up, "you said he wanted you to deliver messages for him. 'Messages' is plural."

His eyes shifted to the grass, face turning red.

My nervousness returned. "What's the other message?"

Our gazes landed on the headmaster of Red Fountain's grandson. Hating the attention we were all giving him, he sighed. "Baltor said he was willing to make a trade."

Stella rolled her eyes. "Let me guess," she said. "He wants the Water Stars in exchange for the boys?"

I couldn't help but notice he kept glancing over to me.

"It's not a thing he wants. He said he'd trade five lives for one."

My skin burned, feeling everyone's eyes. Swallowing hard, I sighed. "He wants me."

* * *

_ And so the last filler chapter has come to completion. It's also the shortest chapter, but the last two will make up for it, I promise. _

_This story is so close to being done; I can't emotionally handle or comprehend it. It's insane._

_ Clearly, this chapter is much shorter than the others and this is because of the fact that it is a filler chapter. Not much goes on except some basic filling in for the big finale in the next chapter. As you can see, I skipped _a lot_ of content. I didn't want to waste time on episodes like Spell of the Elements (which is an amazing episode by the way) because it's kind of like what I've said before all the other times I've skipped episodes, I wouldn't really change anything. Since I didn't want to change anything about it, I didn't want to type out basically the episode word-by-word. That would get boring really fast._

_ I'd like to apologize for the lateness of this chapter. I'm still coping with some recent stuff and with my job it's been a bit too hectic for me to just sit down and write without falling asleep on my laptop. But I really do want to try and finish this story by Halloween, or early November at the latest. I don't think I'm ever going to be able to comprehend the concept that this story is ending. It doesn't seem possible at all._

_ Also, if you all don't mind, I'd like to have a little freak out because the other day, Broken Pieces became the most-reviewed Sparxshipping story in the archive! That was the absolute last thing I thought would happen to this fic; I didn't even think I'd reach 100 reviews. The reaction that everyone has had to this fic is mind-blowing, and I totally don't deserve a single bit of it. I would go in to thanking people further, but I plan to do that in the epilogue when this story is actually completed._

_ In the next chapter, we have the final battle a.k.a. Episode 26. All I'm going to say about it is that I'm not promising any kind of specific outcome except for possible tears. There's a good chance that everyone may turn on me and want to tear me limb from limb, but I'm pretty satisfied with the ending. I know I cried, so that's something for you all to look forward to!_

_ As always, please leave a review if you liked it, I will fix any grammatical errors as soon as time allows, and I will see all of you in the grand finale!_

_~Bloom_


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter 21**

"So your real name is Nabu and you're a prince on Tides, but you ran away and went by the name Ophir to meet the girl your royal parents were going to force you to marry?"

The guy previously known as Ophir nodded. "Pretty much."

"What kind of clichéd bullshit is that?" Musa asked, annoyed.

"It worked, didn't it?"

Flora shook her head, defeated. "I think that girl can find anyone to argue with."

I was barely paying attention. I was focused on other things.

The closer we got to Tides, the tighter my stomach knotted. I didn't know what was going to happen once we arrived, but I knew it wasn't going to be good.

Helia had said that Baltor was willing to make a trade –the boys for me. As long as he was under the Ancestresses' control though, there was no guarantee of that. Once he was done with me, the Ancestresses' bloodlust wouldn't stop. If they still had their link to the outside worlds, they'd use it, no matter what deal they made.

Baltor would be stuck playing the part of their eternal puppet.

Looking out the window, I stared at the dead sea of Tides. Layla had said that despite Baltor leaving the realm, nothing had gotten better. The mermaids were still monsters, the water was lifeless, the sea life was nonexistent. And now, seeing wrinkled, monster-life mer-people leaping out of the water, I could see she was right. His rule was still evident.

I didn't have a plan. I didn't know what I was going to do once I was face to face with Baltor. Obviously, a fight was non-negotiable, but I had no strategy. However, there couldn't truly be a strategy for me to use when I couldn't gauge the events.

All I could think about was the last time he went into demon mode. He was practically unstoppable. I didn't stand a chance. He was going to tear me apart at the slightest opportunity. There wasn't going to be anyone there to stop him this time.

But I was stronger now. With my Enchantix, I could at least put up a decent fight. Possibly. Or at least, I could distract him to try and come up with a solution. Coming up with a solution was pointless though; either way it was going to end badly.

After the others had found Flora and me, we all went back to Alfea. Luckily Ophir (who we found out was actually Prince Nabu a.k.a. the guy that Layla was going to be arranged with to marry) already had a hovercraft ready to leave as soon as we got there. Flora practically had to drag me onto the ship. I was worried for the guys, I really was. I just couldn't stop thinking about what was happening with Baltor.

I didn't think it could get worse than it already was.

We'd spent a good hour of our trip trying to decipher where Baltor would be hiding on Tides. The realm's army had never found his old hideout, and I was the only one who knew where it had been. I'd wanted to stay silent during the trip, but when Flora turned and asked me where he might be, I couldn't remain mute.

_"Underground." _I'd muttered. _"He'll want to be at the greatest source of power, so he'll be somewhere underground close to the Omega Portal."_ There was no point in stalling the inevitable. I'd only be risking the boys' safety.

"We're approaching the Omega Portal," Nabu announced, guiding the ship down.

For the life of me, I didn't want to get out of my chair. I didn't want to get off the ship. And I didn't want to be on Tides.

My thoughts shot to one particular moment between Baltor and me. I was walking out of our first real meeting in his pocket realm, and he'd said something that had been haunting me since he'd turned.

_"If you end up deciding that you want to kill me, I think twenty-six is a fair episode number to act on."_

I suppose this was episode twenty-six.

* * *

Layla led us all underground after we reached the Omega Portal. She said that when she was younger she used to go there to hide from her parents and dance. There had been a secret door on the staircase that surrounded the portal, and we each took our turn delving into the caverns.

Parts of the caverns had collapsed on itself, whether from natural wear or tear or from something darker. The light that used to be everywhere was darkened drastically, giving the reflections of water an eerie air. The cavern split off into four different openings –one in front, one on either side, and one behind us. We didn't have time for all of us to explore each one together; we didn't, the boys didn't, and Baltor didn't.

"Okay," I sighed, turning to face everyone. "Um, so, we should split up to cover more ground."

Tecna nodded. "With the size of the area, splitting up would be a logical choice. I suggest pairing up in teams of two, then covering each of the separate tunnels." she plotted. "From there, whichever team finds the prison first will use a contact spell to reach the others to let them know."

"And what happens if one of said groups runs into Baltor?" Layla asked, brow furrowed, angrily. "He surely isn't going to be too far from the guys, and with how much we're going to be divided, there's a greater chance that'll happen."

"It'll be the same plan." Tecna told her. "Use a quick contact spell to call for the other groups so we can take care of Baltor once and for all."

I felt sick.

"Alright, let's make the teams then," she continued. "Flora, I assume you'll be with Helia; same with Layla and Nabu; I'll go with Musa; and Stella you'll be with Bloom."

Musa conjured a small dark blue box from the air, handing it to me. "You're the only one who can really use them. You should have them while we're down here."

I didn't have to ask to know it was the Water Stars.

"All that's left to do is decide which tunnel we'll take."

Taking a moment to tune out the group, I attempted to find Baltor's Dragon Fire. I'd been trying to sense it since I left him at the hideout, but I'd never found anything. To my dismay, I still couldn't sense him. Something inside me though was calling to me, drawing me to the tunnel on the right. There wasn't an explanation as to why, it just felt right (Pun not intended).

"We'll go right!" I interrupted, quickly claiming it.

Tecna's eyebrows knitted together slightly in confusion. "Alright, then, if you're that persistent, go ahead."

"Hey!" Stella drawled, following me towards the tunnel entrance. "The cool kids are partying in the right tunnel!"

"You are not cool!" Musa shouted.

She opened her mouth to snip back at her, but I pulled her away just in time.

The voices from the group gradually became quiet as we walked further into the tunnel. Eventually, we found out that it wasn't just one tunnel; it was a series of them. I mainly relied on my instincts to try and figure out where we going.

We walked side by side, Stella holding up a ball of sunlight to guide us. In the section of the underground that we were in, we were submerged in complete darkness. There was no source of light anywhere once we were in far enough. It was a little off-putting to not be able to see everything except for what Stella's beam touched.

"We're not trying to find the boys, are we?"

Briefly, I considered not replying. "No," I replied.

Her frown appeared worse with the jagged shadows falling on her face.

Fifteen minutes passed between us in total silence. I'd fully expected an interrogation from her, but she was oddly quiet about it. She kept her eyes forward, yet I could see how her eyes were shining.

A large cave suddenly opened in front of us, plunging into darkness that even Stella's light couldn't illuminate.

"That doesn't look very fun," she said, making the ball of light bigger. "It looks like somewhere Baltor would be."

"I'm going in alone." I told her as she started towards the darkness.

Stella whirled towards me, bewildered. "You did not just say that."

"This is how it has to be, Stella." I stared into the black abyss of the cave opening. "It's me and him."

"Not literally!" she exclaimed. "I'm not letting you go in there by yourself! What if the witches are there to ambush you?"

"They won't." I assured her. Granted, I couldn't definitely guarantee that. I never knew what the witches had up their sleeves; but, with the reaction that Darcy had had in the woods, it was reasonable to say that they wouldn't be trying anything slick.

Stella shifted, still uncomfortable with my choice. "There has to be another way."

"This is the only way!" I didn't mean to shout it. "Catch up with the others," I instructed, my voice began to take a dangerously calm tone. "Go find the guys and alert the authorities –in that order. Just whatever you do, don't come looking for me without the majority of Tides's army."

She shook her head. "Don't make me do this."

"Don't make me have to make you do this."

Lifting her head, my heart tightly clenched to see her eyes welling with tears. "I already almost lost you once." she whispered, her voice full of emotion. "Don't make me actually lose you this time."

I forced myself to put on a brave face despite my trembling lower lip. "You're never going to lose me." I wasn't positive just how much of a lie that was.

Suddenly, she yanked me into a hug, squeezing me so tightly I thought I'd surely burst. I hugged her back, trying to get some feeling back into my extremities.

"You're my best friend, Bloom."

I quickly shut my eyes, knowing what was to come. "Stella –"

"You're the sister I never had," she went on. "And as your designated sister, I'm telling you that you're not allowed to die today. You're not allowed to die today, tomorrow, or any other day." Her words started to crack. "I need you here. You have to graduate with us, be my future Maid of Honor, and an aunt to my kids. You have too much left to do here. Promise me that you won't leave."

I broke a small smile. "Do you think I can make that kind of promise with my track record?"

She tearfully laughed. "You can try –huge emphasis on the trying part."

I nodded, but I didn't promise anything.

Taking a step back, she took a breath. "Good luck," she said before taking off in the other direction. The ball of light followed her, temporarily leaving me blind in the darkness. I threw up my own flame to lead me the rest of the way, briefly being reminded of when Baltor had done it on our way to see the Ancestresses.

My chest ached, and I restarted the trek.

* * *

The cave turned out to just be another wider, colder tunnel. It was endless; not even a pinpoint of light could be seen. Yet what was worse was that it gave me a horrific amount of time to reminisce.

Stella's speech hovered over my head, refusing to let me forget. I hated to be as harsh as I was with her, but I had to get her out. I didn't know just how everything was going to go down, and I didn't want Stella or anyone to see that. If I had a choice, _I_ wouldn't want to see it. Fate was cruel, though, and I was destined to suffer.

I tried to not think about Baltor. The more I thought about Baltor, the more I was bound to leave and make the situation ten times worse. If I left he would remain under the Ancestresses' hold that much longer. I couldn't let him endure that anymore. And if something were to happen to me during that process, I'd be content with it.

I was jarred from my thoughts when yelling echoed through the tunnel. Defensively, I transformed into my Enchantix and prepared for whatever was about to head my way.

"I told you we should have left days ago!"

"He was fine! How was I supposed to know that _that_ was going to happen again?"

"Can we just get out of here before we all get torn apart?"

The witches.

Icy, Darcy, and Stormy came to a sudden halt when they saw me. The three seemed to be out of breath, and there were visible scratches on all of them. They seemed genuinely shocked to see me there, but Icy's expression melted into one of pure fury not a moment later.

"What are_ you_ doing here?" Stormy shouted.

"I could ask you the same thing." I bravely replied. I could see Darcy shoot me a warning glance.

"Who cares?" Icy snapped. "Let's just get rid of this pixie!"

I barely had a second's reaction time as Icy shot a brilliant blue beam of pure ice at me. I erected a fire shield right before it slammed into me, blocking the oncoming stream of energy with every ounce of power I had.

"I'm going to enjoy wiping the floor with you!" she threatened, putting more power into her attack.

I could feel myself start to slip some, flashes of Shadow Haunt appearing in my mind. Struggling a little to refocus, I put some more power into my shield as well.

"Icy, we don't have time for this brat!" Stormy shouted, rapidly glancing over her shoulder. "Let's go!"

How close _was_ he?

"I'd hate to pass up on a chance to witch her up," Darcy remarked. "However, I'd also hate to be dead."

Icy's eye was twitching from the restraint. The longer she glared at me, I could begin to see small snowflakes flurrying around her. Her energy beam was becoming stronger with each passing moment. She spared no expense in making sure I knew that she wanted me in a puddle of blood on the floor.

"Besides, Baltor will take care of her."

The ice witch's eyes widened in realization, and the snowflakes dissipated. A twisted grin stretched across her face. "That's right." she happily hissed. Her beam of energy vanished, allowing me to remove my shield. "As much as I'd love to see you get torn apart piece by piece by a raging demon, I'd rather not get caught in the crossfire." Her grin morphed into a taunting smirk. "Your blood's hard to get out of my clothes."

Motioning for her sisters, she brushed past me and kept going. Stormy tailed after her immediately, glaring at me from the side. I didn't care. My attention was on Darcy, who was falling far behind Icy and Stormy. The aforementioned two had disappeared far into the darkness while the hypnotic witch stayed behind.

"Is he okay?" I asked under my breath.

She sighed, most likely trying to understand why she was still here. "No," she hastily muttered. "He morphed back to his human form the day after he turned, but he went insane. I've never seen him like that. He destroyed everything in the hideout." She paused. "But he kept talking about you and how he was going to kill you."

My heartache worsened.

"I've heard some twisted stuff," she said. "Nothing compared to what he said, though."

"Darcy!" Icy's voice shrieked through the air. I flinched.

"I need to leave," she quickly murmured. "Just whatever you do, don't let him get behind you."

I furrowed my brow. "Why?"

She shook her head. "Just don't."

I knew better than to ask any more questions.

Without another word, Darcy darted away from me, going to join her sisters. I blindly stood there until the echoing sound of her high heels clicking against the stone drifted off into silence. It was then, in that endless black void of dead air, that I became utterly terrified.

I've had my powers ripped from my body. I've been ripped open with an icicle. I've had my heart painfully changed from light to dark. And I'd gladly go through each and every one of those experiences again if it meant that I didn't have to keep walking. I didn't want to face what was at the end of the tunnel. If I saw what was there, there was no guarantee I could keep it together. If I couldn't keep it together, I was sure to lose the battle.

But I didn't want to win. Hell, I didn't want to lose. I didn't want to fight Baltor at all. I wanted to get back on the hovercraft, curl up in a ball, and cry for a week. And at the end of that week, I wanted to walk off the hovercraft and see Baltor standing there, alright, with no trace of the Ancestresses' curse.

I wanted everything to be over.

It never would be.

No matter how hard I hoped, or how much I tried to avoid a fight, it would never be over. The only way it would end was with one of us dead.

The question that remained was which one of us it would be.

Although my heart screamed no, I slowly continued down the tunnel.

It felt like hours before I reached the end. Upon my first look, the enormous cavern appeared empty; a few stone columns scattered around to keep from a cave in. Not a single sound was heard around me.

Briefly, I wondered how close we were to the original hideout. It'd been relatively in the same area. The closer I inspected it, though, the more I wondered if it _was_ the original hideout. Baltor had had it filled with spell books the last time I'd been there. With how empty it was now, there was a chance that it was the same hideout except I couldn't recognize it.

Stepping out of the tunnel into the light, I felt the temperature quickly plummet. My senses went on high alert and my eyes scanned the room.

I wasn't alone.

My heart skipped a beat when a distant shadow moved at the other end of the cavern. I couldn't discern any details aside from the thing's huge size. I locked my gaze on it as it trudged out of the darkness.

In that moment, the dimension came to a halt. Time itself was nonexistent. The world was so silent that not even our breaths could be heard.

He stood over eight feet tall, looming ominously above everything in the cavern. Nothing about him resembled human features. If I hadn't seen the leathery arm clawing its way out of the hideout in the forest, I wouldn't have believed it to be Baltor. But when I saw that the leathery arm had a body, horns, and wings to match, there was no denying it.

This was what he had warned me about so many times before. This was what he'd tried to spare me from witnessing –the demon.

No, he wasn't a demon. He was Baltor, which was exactly the side of him I needed to appeal to. If I could somehow grab the attention of his human side, there was a chance that we could both come out of this with no damage done.

It was a long shot, but I was willing to try it.

Refusing to break eye contact, I slowly walked towards him, taking the tiniest steps I could. His blood red eyes bore into mine, protruded from under his skin the closer I got, pulsating with adrenaline. He was ready to pounce the moment I made a move. It didn't make sense for him not to attack me, though. Baltor said that he had been conditioned to kill me on sight whilst in his demonic form. He should've been trying to kill me, but he was only studying me.

What was he waiting for?

His hesitation aroused my deeply buried hope. If he wasn't attacking me that meant that something was holding him back. He was either fighting back against the curse, or the Ancestresses were in control and were constructing a plan for how he should destroy me. I was praying for the first.

If he was fighting back, that meant I had the chance to reach out to him. There was a possibility that he could actually hear me.

Taking a silent, steadying breath, I quietly called out: "Baltor?"

He growled.

"Shit."

Baltor lunged towards me, his clawed arm brought back to swing at me. Feeling my own adrenaline rush, I leapt into the air, high above his head. However, instead of him colliding into the stone like I thought he would, his own wings spread, and he dove right after me. Before I could fly out of his way, his large hand locked around my ankle and he flung me across the cavern.

With the size of my wings, I easily was able to stabilize myself before I crashed into the wall. Seeing him come at me again, I formed a heat blast and threw it in his direction. It hit him straight in the chest, surprisingly affecting him.

I was stunned, but continued to repel his attacks and throw some of my own.

I couldn't help but wonder why this was a somewhat evenly matched fight. During our first battle, Baltor had had the ability to control my powers and I'd lost almost instantaneously. The only difference between then and now was my Enchantix. But why would that change anything?

Wracking my mind for an answer, I leapt to the side and put up a wall of fire. It wasn't much, but hopefully it was enough to stall Baltor long enough for me to figure out how to stop him. Although, when I saw him fearlessly begin to approach it, I knew that time span was an incredibly short one.

Panic overwhelmed me as he reached out to break the barrier. I only had seconds left and I'd thought of nothing. Nervously, I began tugging on the chain around my neck, attempting not to focus on what was bound to happen. There had to be an answer.

A terrible monstrous roar suddenly split through my ears.

Returning my attention to Baltor, I saw him cradling his arm to his chest, like he'd been burned. The fire wall was still intact, glowing brighter than before. I could see the Fairy Dust sparkling blindingly with pent up Light energy.

Fairy Dust.

A conversation I'd had with Tecna came to mind. She'd been explaining to me about the intense healing properties of the Fairy Dust that came with the Enchantix transformation. According to what the professors had told her, Fairy Dust was composed strictly from Light energy from the farthest stars in the Magic Dimension, and with that energy it could erase any dark magic. With that energy, it could even erase a dark curse.

That was painfully simple. Almost too simple.

There was no way I could get close to Baltor to use my Fairy Dust on him. If I got that close to him, I'd be dead in two seconds flat. The only other way I could use it on him would be if I infused it in an attack.

There more I thought about it, the more I realized it wasn't just _an _option. It was my _only _option.

The chances of it actually working were slim. True, the amount of Fairy Dust in the attack could eliminate the curse, but the blast itself had the potential to wipe out everything else. He would be set free from the Ancestresses' hold and the rest would be destroyed _I_ would be destroyed.

Whether or not I enacted the spell, I was staring death in the face. I would either die by my own hand or by Baltor's. I wasn't sure if I was prepared to die; although, I couldn't bear the thought of forcing the guilt of murdering me on Baltor. I was more than willing to spare him from that.

Flora was right. It was going to come down to me or him.

And it was going to be me.

I wasn't going to have much time to do it. Once I dissipated the fire wall, I had to be ready. I had to have the blast ready I had to be ready to die.

Looking at Baltor, I could barely see his eyes through the wall. The red was gone. In its place was the familiar grey I'd always known; the grey I . . . loved.

"I'm sorry."

Tearing the Fairy Dust pendant off, I crushed it in my hand till there was nothing but a pile of shimmering particles. Taking a final, long breath, the fire wall vanished.

Baltor charged.

With barely a split second to react, I quickly focused all of my Dragon Fire into one ball of energy. Then I launched it.

Light erupted.

Heat blasted me.

And I graciously accepted my fate as I was blown into oblivion.

* * *

_I apologize for nothing. And if you ask me what Darcy meant by "Don't let him get behind you," I will not tell you. Unless there is a high demand for the answer, I will leave that for the imagination._

_This was supposed to have gone up yesterday, but my life has been a little hectic as of late. I got a new, full-time job that's going to take up the majority of my time now amongst other things, hopefully. But, I promise that the epilogue will be up later this week, most likely on Halloween._

_Yes, there is only one more chapter left –the epilogue. It doesn't feel real that there's only one chapter left. I feel like I still have so much more to go. Technically I do, since there will be two sequels to this story. Broken Pieces is just my precious baby that I don't want to let go of._

_This was an emotional roller coaster for me to write, honestly –mainly the ending, and the part with Stella. Like I said, though, I don't regret any of my decisions for this chapter. I like to be very strategic about things like this, and I'm not disappointed. I'm content with the madness I've created._

_I'm not going to get all sappy and shit until the end of the epilogue because, obviously, that's THE END. So, I won't do that, but, like, always, I appreciate every single one of you who have supported me over this past year. I will go back over this for errors another time since I have to go work a graveyard shift in like 3 hours. Also, if you liked the chapter don't be afraid to leave a review telling me what you liked!_

_~Bloom_


	22. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

I don't remember waking up. I don't think I ever will. I can recall going in and out of consciousness throughout however long I was at the hospital before I woke up. But waking up? Not a thing. After being knocked out by the power blast, the next thing I could remember was being squeezed to death by Stella, who was ecstatic that I was finally awake. Everything between that was a blank space.

Everyone in my room was talking and crying and once I was awake they were talking more and crying more. They all crowded around me when Stella hugged me, asking me a number of questions that I couldn't remember the answers to. It wasn't because I couldn't answer them. It was because I was too focused on one person. Or, more specifically, the one person who _wasn't_ in the room.

Even when everyone had calmed down enough to give me space, I didn't see him. I was only slightly worried at first. All five of the girls were in here at once, so he probably didn't want to overwhelm me more than they were already going to. But as time dragged on, and each girl left, he never took their place. Not when there were four. Not when there was one.

_ He just wants to talk one-on-one_, I thought to myself. _Besides, there's no guarantee that the other girls know yet. When Flora finishes talking, she's going to say that there's someone outside whose been waiting 'quite some time to see you' and he's going to walk in_.

Flora left.

He never came.

I tried not to panic when fifteen minutes passed and he still hadn't come in. I tried not to think that the power blast had done what I'd dreaded. Those were thoughts I didn't need in my head. But, nonetheless, they were.

I thought that when the explosion happened, I would be the one to take the brunt of it. What if it wasn't me who did?

According to the doctors, I'd suffered severe damage from the battle. I'd endured several cracked ribs, a dislocated shoulder, some internal bleeding, and my right leg had been broken in multiple places. Luckily with medicinal magic, they'd been able to heal me fairly quickly on most of my injuries. They said that it was miraculous that I was alive at all.

I wanted to ask Flora about it each time she came to see me, but she never gave me the time of day to speak. She insisted on telling me every detail of what was going on outside the hospital, despite that I had a television in my room and knew exactly what she was talking about. It was clear she knew something. It was clearer that she didn't want me to ask about it.

It took me two weeks before I bucked up.

"Is he dead?"

Flora immediately stopped in the middle of her elaborate story about her recent date with Helia. She was frozen like a deer in the headlights, unsure of what to do. I could see the fear in her eyes of what she should say.

"Is he dead?"

She'd started to fidget a bit, toying with the hem of her lacy skirt. "Bloom, it's not my place to say –"

"Flora, please," I hadn't meant for my voice to catch, but it had. "Please, just tell me."

She was reluctant, but eventually spoke. "After the authorities cleared the path to get back into the cavern, we told them that we should go in alone first. I told the other girls to search the other tunnels, and I would call for them if I needed their help. I figured that if you two had made it out okay, you two would probably still be there together." She paused. "When I reached the cavern, the first thing I saw was you sprawled on the ground. For a second I believed you were legitimately dead, but luckily your pulse was just barely there." She paused again. "The next thing I saw was that you were alone. He was . . . _gone_. None of us could find his body."

I don't know what I'd expected to hear. Expecting to hear that he was okay and that he was recovering from injuries just down the hall was too good to be true. Any form of good was too good for me.

I didn't cry. I didn't scream, or curse, or punch anything. I just sat there, blindly nodding. I wanted to cry, scream, curse, and punch everything, but what was the use? There was no point in a dramatic reaction. What was the point in crying over something you already knew the answer to?

Of course, it didn't stop me from feeling like I was being torn apart inside.

I spent the next week in the hospital staring at the door. People came in and out, chatting and trying to make me laugh, but nothing they did made me feel any better. I tried to laugh with them and act like I was fine. I tried to seem like everything was okay. I tried to act like hearing that the one person I'd ever cared about this deeply hadn't shattered my recently fixed world into pieces.

I'd reverted.

I wasn't going to say that I would never be right again. I'd thought the same thing a year ago, but he'd come along and proved me wrong. Who's to say that that wouldn't happen again sometime in the future? That's what people do. They evolve from their past experiences no matter how hard they may be. People learn to live with pain. And I was going to have to learn to live with this pain. I was going to have to pick up these broken pieces and put them back together on my own.

Nothing was going to change the fact that he was dead. And nothing was going to change how it was affecting me right now. But I could change how it affected my future.

Another week passed, and after it had, I was able to walk on my own again. The doctors permitted me to leaving the hospital, but only if I was constantly supervised since my leg hadn't completely healed yet. Stella had jumped first at trying to get me to stay with her, but luckily Flora had won that nasty argument. A quick transportation spell to Linphea, and we were at her house.

Flora's house was much bigger than I'd imagined it to be, and much more regal. When she told me her parents were members on the planet's council, though, it started to make sense. Rose had been more than happy to see me. She probably would've jumped on me if Flora hadn't kept her at bay.

There was an extra guest room that Flora said I could stay in, but the majority of the time I was never there. Despite Flora's adamant protests, I spent a major amount of time sitting on the roof, drawing. It was a bit psychotic for me to sit on the roof for hours on end, but I didn't care. It gave me peace, quiet, and solitude. And that was all I really wanted.

After a few days of my continuous escapades to her roof, Flora joined me. We didn't say anything for a long time. We didn't really need to.

"How do you feel?"

I didn't move putting the finishing touches on the sketch I'd been working on. "Am I supposed to be feeling something?"

Flora frowned. "Are you at least okay?"

I looked down at the picture I'd drawn. The second I met his lifelike eyes, I ripped it out of the notebook and turned it to ash in my hand. "No."

She didn't say anything after that.

Somehow, I managed to go and actually graduate on time. With Flora's help while I was incapacitated, all of my late work had been completed and I received my diploma. However, she had to physically drag me off the school grounds when Faragonda told me how I had always been her favorite student and how proud she was that I did such a great job.

I hoped I never saw her again.

From what I'd heard the girls say, the witches had been institutionalized in Light Rock Fortress again. Frankly, I was shocked that they thought it would hold them considering they'd already broken out of there once. They were under constant supervision, though, making any kind of scheming between them impossible. Apparently it _was_ possible for them to get out on good behavior, but with how maniacal Icy and Stormy were, it appeared only attainable by Darcy. She was the only one level-headed enough to at least trick them into thinking she had been "saved."

I hated that I never got to thank Darcy. It was odd to think that I'd ever want to thank one of the witches. She had essentially been a subtle factor in my whatever-it-was with Baltor, and if it wasn't for her, I probably wouldn't be alive today. He would've ended me that night we first kissed without her intervention. And I'd most likely never get to thank her for that.

It was the same routine every day. I'd wake up, go up on the roof with my sketchbook, and sit there for God knows how long until I finally decided to come back down, went to bed; and then it all restarted the next morning. I was stuck in an endless loop of nothing.

The sun was sitting high in the sky when I heard the front door to Flora's house open

"There's someone here to see you." Flora said, having to tilt her head back to look at me.

I sighed, continuing to shade the picture on my drawing. "I'm not in the mood."

"Are you sure? He's going to be very disappointed if you don't come see him."

My curiosity piqued a bit at the mention of a 'he.' The only people who had come to see me since I was in the hospital were the girls and the guys. What other 'he' was there? "I'm not in the mood, Flo." I repeated, pushing down my curiosity for once in my life.

I heard her audibly sigh. Shaking her head, she looked at the front door. "I'm sorry," she said. "She says she's not in the mood."

I heard a man's voice resonate from under me, but I couldn't hear what was being said. Soon after, footsteps could be heard, retreating into the house.

Flora redirected her attention to me. "You can't reject human contact forever, Bloom."

"I'm talking to you and staying in your house. That's an acceptance of human contact." I corrected.

I didn't have to look down to know she'd put her hands on her hips. "You know that's not what I meant. He was really looking forward to seeing you."

I didn't reply.

She pulled her fingers through her hair. "Alright, I get it. You're not in the mood." she gave in. "Either way; he left a box here for you."

I looked down at her. "Is it a bomb?"

Her eyes went wild. "Why would it be a bomb?"

I shrugged. "If it can happen to Peter Pan, it can happen to anyone."

"Who is –?" She cut herself off. "Never mind. If you decide to open your 'bomb,' it's sitting on your bed." she said, using air quotes.

Everything went quiet again when she went back inside except for the sound of my pencil scraping against the paper. Instead of sitting in silence in peace though, my thoughts were raging. Every cell in my body was screaming at me to go find out what was in that box. I'd denied my curiosity once today; there was no guarantee I had the self-restraint for a second time.

And Flora knew that.

"Damn it," I cursed under my breath. Walking to the edge of the roof, I made my way down to the lowest one, covering the walkway. Not thinking twice, I leapt to the ground.

Legs still too weak to support myself after a jump that high, I collapsed face-first into the grass. Pain immediately shot through me upon impact. I stayed there for a few moments, near ready to accept defeat until I heard sandals flop against the sidewalk.

"Now, what have we learned?"

Something about that statement put a fire of determination under me. Struggling some, I managed to pull myself up onto my wobbly feet. After steadying myself, I saw her smug expression and walked past her into the house.

The mansion was quieter than it usually was. Rose was off at a friend's house, and Flora's parents were at some big council meeting about teaming up with Zenith to create a cleaner energy source or something. But I knew that kind of silence. For some reason, this was almost too quiet.

Taking the short trip to the back of the house to my room, I came to a halt when I saw a large plain white box sitting on the bed. I eyed it suspiciously; the fact that I couldn't identify who it was from made me leery.

Approaching the box, I tried to pick it up, thinking Flora might've just placed it upside down. I could barely lift it off the bed, the weight of whatever was inside nearly snapping my fingers off.

That was definitely a bomb.

_Not everything's a trap, darling._

My body went numb, hearing the voice in my head. The sound of it made my heart squeeze painfully in my chest, close to bursting, and for a second, I wondered if I'd actually heard it. That was, until I felt the tingling warmth of a familiar presence behind me.

Spinning around, I froze, completely stunned.

Baltor was standing in the doorway, a smirk on his face. He looked perfectly fine, like he'd never been in a near-death battle whatsoever. Not a scratch, not a bruise, not anything. The only thing different about him was that his coat was gone.

I went cold. Every inch of me was practically convulsing from how hard I was shaking.

It was just my imagination. It had to be. There was no way he was really there. Maybe the medications I was on were finally kicking in and this was a hallucination.

"Am I dreaming right now?" I asked, my voice barely above a murmur. His face started to blur from tears.

He took a step forward, standing more in the light. "Why don't you come see for yourself, technical princess?"

I forgot about the pain in my leg. I ran across the room, and leapt into his arms, holding onto him for dear life. His arms instantly folded around me, keeping me tight against his chest. My heart soared and ached simultaneously. There was no stopping the tears pouring like waterfalls from my eyes. I dug my fingers into his shirt, refusing to let him go while I continued to cry. He quietly shushed me, calmly stroking my hair as he held me.

A thought struck me.

He was holding me.

"The curse –" I started to say.

"Broken," Baltor interrupted. His fingers lightly ran up and down my back. "Your Dragon Fire mixed with your Fairy Dust was enough to break it." His grip on me tightened. "I'm just relieved you made it out alright; you were sending off a great deal of power."

I shook my head. "We can talk about that later. There's something I need to do first."

Throwing my hands around his neck, I slammed my lips against his.

And he didn't stop me.

The same feeling of liquid fire speared through my body. I practically let out a sigh of relief when one of his hands slid down to anchor my hip and pull me in closer to him. I knotted my fingers in his hair, desperate to feel him close to me again.

I missed the feeling of kissing Baltor. There were no words to describe it. Any word that came to mind could never accurately sum up exactly what it was like. The way his lips brushed across mine; the strong beating of his heart against my chest; his fingertips gently digging into my lower back.

There was nothing in the realms that was more perfect to me than kissing him.

"If you're going to do that, at least close the door."

Flora's voice from outside made us jump and we broke the kiss. I could just barely see the smirk on her face as she passed by the open door.

Baltor chuckled, pulling me back into his chest. I continued to clutch onto him, resting my head against his vest.

"I'm still surprised she even let me in the house," he remarked.

I didn't say anything, suddenly feeling a large lump rise in my throat.

His hold on me became more possessive –protective. "What's wrong?" His voice was full of concern.

I lost it.

He caught me before I hit the ground, collecting me in his arms and keeping me upright on my feet. I clutched onto his vest, burying my face in his neck, tears staining his shirt.

For a while, we stayed like that, Baltor endlessly consoling me. I wasn't sure why my mind had chosen then to break, of all the times.

"I thought you were dead." I mumbled.

He nodded, combing his fingers through my hair. "The only way we were going to get out of that situation was if I faked my death. After you broke the curse, it seemed logical to go with that plan of attack until we figured the rest out."

I opened my mouth to speak, when his words turned over in my head. I felt myself become numb. Three of his words stuck out to me. "Plan of attack?" I repeated. "You planned that? As in, you've _known_ that faking your death was always a possible outcome?"

He was silent, comprehending what I was implying.

My relief melted away in an instant. Rage burned through my veins, sending me over the edge. Tears spilled over my cheeks, but for a completely different reason than before. I was furious.

I shoved on his chest, pushing him away from me. "Get out."

Baltor tried to get close to me again, but I took a swing at him. He easily dodged it, but both of us were a little surprised to see my fist engulfed in flames.

"Bloom, I understand you're angry," Baltor started saying.

"Oh, _do you_?" I spat, steam practically coming off me. "Do you even know what it was like sitting in that hospital room alone? Do you know what it felt like to hear Flora tell me that no one found you on Tides? That you weren't coming? Do you know what I've been going through for the past month? I thought you were _dead_!

"You don't get to say that you understand that I'm angry, because you won't ever understand how I feel right now. I'm not angry. I'm _pissed_. And I'm hurt. And I've been alone for a month now trying to figure out how the hell I was supposed to get over you. I've been alone for a month trying to figure out how to convince myself that you actually were _dead_!"

I paused, waiting for some kind of reaction. There was nothing on his face; not a single emotion.

"Did you even think about me while you were off planning this?" I asked, beginning to stutter. "Did I not matter to you at all?"

He gave me an incredulous look. "That is the most ridiculous question you've ever asked me. You think you don't matter to me? You honestly believe that?" In an instant, he was inches away from me, his face dangerously close to mine. I tried to swat his hands away before they could cup my face, but it was no use. "You will always matter to me. Regardless of what happens, you will always matter to me."

I said nothing, fuming.

He sighed, running a hand down his face. "I found you after the battle on Tides."

My eyes shifted.

"You were laying in the rubble," he continued, despite my lack of reaction. "You were covered in blood, and you were barely breathing. I tried everything, but nothing worked." There was a pained look on his face. "So, I sat there powerless while you died in my arms."

I set my jaw, my throat feeling scratchy.

"For the first time in my existence, I didn't know what to do. All I knew was that I was going to lose you. I had no intentions of accepting that; however, even the Dragon Fire was unable to heal you.

"But then you woke up."

If I'd been holding something, I'd have surely dropped it. "I woke up?"

He nodded. "I didn't realize it at first until you said something along the lines of 'well, that got heated fast.'"

That did sound like me.

"You were only conscious for a few minutes, but it was long enough. We talked about what happened, and then suddenly you were gone," he said. "Again."

I frowned.

"I thought you knew," Baltor said to me. "I took the slim chance that you remembered waking up after the battle when I shouldn't have. Although, I also know that my extended absence didn't help the situation either."

No, it didn't.

"And I want you to know that –"

"Leave."

His expression became stoic with a hint of anguish in his eyes. "Bloom –"

"Leave," I repeated, teeth clenched. I tried to ignore the way my skin tingled when he said my name. "_Please_."

He looked like he was going to speak; he wanted to say something. Half of me wanted him to say it.

Without another word, he bowed his head and made his way out of the room. Every footstep stabbed me in the chest, slow and agonizing. I'd never felt pain like this and I had to turn away to make it lessen. But it didn't stop until the thuds came to a halt.

"Bloom, what I said to you in the hideout in Magix," I heard him say from behind me. "I still do. And I always will."

"Please, just get out!" I screamed. My voice cracked, tears finally falling down my face.

The footsteps picked up again and the warmth in my chest slowly died as the sound grew fainter.

I was a sobbing mess by the time it was gone. The cold emptiness in my soul overwhelmed me, and I knew that he was gone, too.

Angrily, I threw one of the picture frames on the dresser next to me across the room. It shattered upon impact.

But the only question that truly remained was if I was angry at Baltor or myself.

* * *

On the nineteenth of July, a few days after Baltor left, I woke up to find the box still sitting on the end of my bed.

For a while, I just stared at it, confused. It didn't take a genius to know that it was the same one from before. It also wasn't hard to determine that it was from him. He'd never directly stated it, but it was safe to assume.

I'd asked Flora if she or someone could get rid of it after he'd left. Just knowing that it was from him made me less inclined to open it; it was just taking up space. We weren't anything anymore.

However, knowing that it was from him also made me more inclined _to_ open it. Baltor had given it to me for a reason. There was something in there that he wanted me to see. I wasn't sure just what it was that he could've wanted me to see, but the thought of him bringing me something caused a painful twinge in m heart.

Since clearly Flora had no intentions of removing the box, I finally decided to open it.

I carefully opened the box, not wanting to jar it if it happened to be extraordinarily fragile. Knowing that Baltor knew me all too well, though, I was pretty certain he wouldn't gift me anything that could easily break. Or break in general since I was that accident prone.

Pulling the cardboard flaps back, I peered into the box.

I felt like I was going to fall down.

My hands shook as I pulled out the floor-length burgundy leather coat. It weighed much more than I'd anticipated, but I didn't let go of it.

_"What's one thing you want?"_

_"Your coat."_

_". . . Of all the relics and spells I've stolen, you want my coat?"_

_"Yes! I want to look like a badass! But I know you're attached; therefore, I will never get it."_

_"I wouldn't go so far as to say 'never'. One day, possibly."_

"_Yeah, like that'll ever happen_."

I didn't realize I was crying till I saw a teardrop hit one of the lapels of the coat. I laid it down on the bed, freeing my hands to wipe the tears off my face. More kept coming, though, no matter how many times I brushed them off my cheeks.

Seeing a small slip of white paper fall out of the coat, I picked it up and flipped it over, seeing words written in an elegant handwriting that seemed to have a knack at pissing me off.

_Happy birthday, technical princess._

I had a flurry of emotions that I couldn't describe, looking at the note. I was happy that he remembered. I was pissed at what Baltor had done. I was exhausted from pretending that I was okay with my decision. I was depressed over making such a drastic call over us.

That was when I wanted to cry, scream, curse, and punch everything.

My mind was doing somersaults. I didn't know what to do. When you ended it with someone, it wasn't supposed to feel like this. It wasn't supposed to feel like the biggest mistake of your life. I was supposed to feel like going out every night and making out with guys. I shouldn't still be waiting for him to come back through the door.

Before I could try to figure out what I should do, something caught my eye at the bottom of the box. I almost didn't see it with how dark the material was. Picking up the object that had been hidden under the coat, I brushed my hand over the black leather cover.

It was unfamiliar to me. I'd never seen the book in Baltor's collection before, nor had I seen it anywhere else. I didn't know where he'd gotten it.

Flipping through some of the pages, I glanced over a few of the paragraphs. They were extremely detailed instructions of how to reach a certain place. And after my eyes scanned over the words "place not of this realm or even this dimension," I knew exactly what it was.

Closing the book, I looked at the cover again and held it tightly to my chest. "Thank you."

OBSIDIAN: THE DARK REALM

* * *

_Wow. Um, that's it. That's the end. I bawled so many times while writing this and nearly half of it was written months ago. It was ridiculous._

_So, like, I honestly don't know what to say. When I said that I didn't expect to get this far, I meant it. I didn't think I'd get passed the middle. I always have a beginning and an end, but I never get to anything else. Plus the fact that this story has broke 200 reviews, plus is on the 3rd page of the most reviewed fics in the archive is blowing my mind. I wasn't expecting this kind of reaction after my break._

_I'd like to start this final message by thanking all of you. This story wouldn't be as much of a success as it is without your support. All of your reviews and sweet words have meant everything to me. And if you think I haven't read your reviews or your PMs, this me telling you that I have read each and every one of them, and I appreciate each word my eyes read. I thank all of you for that._

_This story is my ultimate baby. It's been an outlet for me and writing it has helped me get through so many events. I've experienced a lot of life-changing things over the past year; some good, some bad. Yet this story has always been here for me to express my emotions with; you all have always been there. I couldn't ask for anything more than that._

_As I've mentioned, there will be a sequel! It is called Break In, and it will be rated M. Yes, that means that there will be more mature scenes in the next one. If you would like to be notified when it is released, do not be afraid to ask, I will message you when it is released. A couple of oneshots will be posted between now and then, one will be called Hellfire and the other will be about the after-battle scene Baltor spoke of, except in his perspective. But, hopefully, they're both good._

_Well, I have a few things to work on now that this is officially complete, so I'm going to go work on them. And I will take my final leave for this story. I'll scan through later for errors; if you liked it, please leave a review; have a happy Halloween; and I'll see you in Break In!_

_~Bloom_


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